He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not
by goodeytwoshoes
Summary: Takes place after GG2. Cammie and classmates visit some old friends. The Blackthorne Boys! Will Zach finally claim Cammie as his public girlfriend, or will she be left in the dust? And who is this mysterious Chris?
1. Chapter 1

_Zach_

That was the only thing that popped into my mind when my mom (AKA Headmaster of Gallagher) announced that the Gallagher Academy for Exceptional Young Women will once again be merging with the Blackthorne Institute for Boys for another semester. Except this time, fifteen of _**our girls**_ would be _**leaving**_, instead of fifteen Blackthorne Boys coming here. My mother began reading off names of the girls that were chosen to go.

"...Rebecca Baxter, Anna Fetterman...Elizabeth Sutton, Macey McHenry...Kim Lee, and Cameron Morgan. Good luck, girls. You're going to need it," she finished, returning to her seat.

"Isn't this great?" Liz asked us excitedly. "We'll each be able to see the guys from last year. Cammie, are you feeling okay?" she inquired, flashing me a look of concern. Probably because of the expression of nausea that I was wearing.

"Mhm," I squeaked. "Just a bad piece of broccoli," I quickly lied.

"She's nervous about seeing Zach," Macey shrugged, poking at her dish.

"Ohhh," Liz said in realization. "It's okay, Cammie. It's obvious he likes you."

"Sure," I told her. _But he's too embarrassed to let people know that_ I thought.

"Come on, Cammie," Bex said brightly, her British accent thick. "This'll be so fun!"

"You're right," I chuckled. "And maybe, you and Grant can get together this time," I said, wiggling my eyebrows suggestively. Bex giggled and threw a roll at me. I gasped and threw some of my potatoes at her.

"Ladies," our gorgeous CoveOps teacher, Mr. Solomon, warned.

"Sorry," Bex and I apologized at the same time. We ate the rest of our dinner in peace, and went upstairs to go to sleep. After our nightly routine, we climbed into our beds.

"Good night," we all repeated to each other. I sighed. Tomorrow was gonna be...difficult.

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**short, i no, and its not as good as my normal stuff is but its gonna get better. review!! tell me wat u think! **


	2. Chapter 2

I woke up to Macey's rough shaking.

"Come on, get up," she said, still shaking me. I moaned and rolled over, ignoring my impatient roommate. She attempted to wake me up one more time before booming, "Cameron Ann Morgan, if you don't get up in ten seconds..." I didn't even let her finish, because I immediately shot out of bed. I didn't want to find out what she had in store for me if I had stayed in bed.

"I'm up!" I shouted, alerting her there was no need for early morning violence.

"Good," she said, obviously pleased. "Now come on, we have a lot of work to do."

"What are we doing?" I asked as she dragged me to the bathroom.

She threw me down on a small stool and answered simply, "Making you gorgeous."

After one hour, 43 minutes, and 5 seconds of plucking, spraying, and carefully applying make-up, I was finally released.

"Why are you all looking at me like that?" I asked cautiously, staring into the awe-stricken faces of my best friends.

"Look for yourself," Bex breathed, still dazed. I turned to the mirror and gasped.

"I look...."

"Hot," all three of my sisters finished for me.

"Well, I had to make you hot. If I didn't, you'd annoy me the whole way there," Macey shrugged. She acted like it was no big deal, but I knew it was.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you!" I shrieked, going to hug her tightly.

"Stop!" she yelled. "After we've seen the guys. You're going to mess up your clothes." I nodded excitedly. After preparing me for our reunion with the boys, Bex, Liz, and Macey went to get themselves ready. They were done in an hour and 32 minutes. We all headed down to eat breakfast, since it was 8:00, and once we were done, the fifteen girls chosen to leave were told to report to Mr. Solomon.

"Good morning, ladies," Mr. Solomon greeted. He raised his eyebrow at the sight of all these made-up girls in front of him. "Now, you should know that you won't be able to just stroll into Blackthorne."

"Couldn't we just this once?" Tina asked.

Mr. Solomon chuckled. "I'm afraid not, Ms. Walters." Tina's face fell. You could tell she really wanted to impress the boys, with the skirt she had on. "Now, your assignment is to replace 15 Blackthorne Boys, and see if any of the students notice the difference." I smiled. I couldn't wait to rub it in Zach's face when he didn't recognize me. "I have a list of Blackthorne students here, along with their pictures, and you have each been assigned a boy to replace."

**Matt Little-Rebecca Baxter**

**Daniel Chase-Cameron Morgan**

**Jacob Whithers-Elizabeth Sutton**

**Brandon Lineburger-Macey McHenry**

I had no idea if Zach was friends with any of these guys, but I was hoping.

"Ready?" I asked my friends. They all nodded. We all loaded into the helicopter, blindfolded once again.

"Why can't we know where Blackthorne is?" Tina whined. It was obvious she wanted to find out if her Maine theory was correct or not.

"Quiet, Ms. Walters," was all Mr. Solomon said. It was silent for another 2 hours and 38 minutes. Once we landed, I immediately removed my blindfold.

"This can't be right." I was staring at a giant, elaborately-decorated church.

"You're right, Ms. Morgan. This isn't the Blackthorne Institute," Mr. Solomon announced.

"But I thought..." Tina whimpered, trailing off.

"Yes, I know, but it was understood that the identity of Blackthorne's location wouldn't be revealed."

"Understood? Between who?" I asked.

But Mr. Solomon ignored me. He just gestured for us to follow. "Now, you must find your student, and replace them. Good luck."_ Well, that was helpful_ I thought.

"Come on," Bex said, already jogging to the church. We all followed, communicating on comms. One by one, we took down all fifteen boys. We had to quickly change into the costumes we brought from the closet. Covering up the breasts was difficult, but it didn't matter much because our clothing was baggy anyways. We all finished in under 3 minutes, so we all headed off for the lunch area.

"There's Zach," I whispered to Bex.

"He looks good," she praised. We sat down at the table, watching to see if anyone recognized us. No one mentioned anything, so I relaxed a little. Then, I looked at Zach. He did look good. His dark hair had grown a little over the summer, so it just barely fell in his eyes now. And his arms had gotten bigger, and it looked like he had worked out a lot. I finally started listening to the conversation when Bex flicked my thigh.

"You think Mr. Steve will do another exchange with Gallagher?" Grant asked, leaning back in his seat.

"Why?" Zach asked. "Dying to see the 'British Bombshell' again?" he mocked.

Grant punched him in the shoulder. "Shut up. So, we all know you wanna see Cam again?" I was so glad Zach wasn't looking at me, because I seriously think I was blushing.

"Who?" Zach asked. I stopped blushing.

"Don't act like you don't know," Grant teased. "You know you like her."

Zach did a little half chuckle. "That Plain Jane? You need to get your head checked, man." It felt like I had gotten punched in the gut. By Bex.

"She's cute. In a girl-next-door kind of way," Grant defended. Why couldn't Zach be like that? Nice?

"Yeah, right. What'd you think, Dan?" he asked, looking at me.

I mustered up enough strength to make sure my voice didn't crack when I spoke, and said in my deepest voice, "I wouldn't be caught dead talking to that wallflower," doing that same half chuckle as Zach.

"See?" Zach said, smiling and leaning back in his seat. "Dan gets it. No guy would like her. There's nothing special about her." I felt tears forming, but I ordered them not to fall.

"I heard Chris did," Grant told Zach.

"Chris Henson?" Zach asked. "He has horrible taste anyway."

"Excellent afternoon, gentlemen," Dr. Steve said, standing at his podium. "I'm sure you're wondering why we're in this church," he said.

"Nah dip," a guy said.

"Well, you're about to find out," he informed them.

Mr. Solomon came out, and said, "Ladies, reveal yourselves." All of us stood up, and removed our disguises (well, as much as we could, anyways). When Zach saw it was me, his eyes bugged out.

"Gallagher Girl," he exclaimed, standing up. "Look, I can-"

"You do know we're in public, right?" I asked him, cutting him off. "Talking to a Plain Jane like me would seriously hurt your rep." He opened his mouth to talk, but I didn't stop. "And neither of us wants that, right?" I asked in a mocking tone, pretending like I cared about his reputation.

"You know it's not like that," he started, but I didn't let him finish. I threw my wig at him, and stormed out.

I could feel my sister behind me, so when we were out of the room, I turned to her and said, "You don't have to come, Bex. Don't you want to talk to Grant?"

"Sisters come first." I smiled at her. Soon, Macey and Liz came to meet us.

"What happened?" Macey demanded. Bex and I filled her and Liz in.

"Oh, he didn't," Macey breathed. "Well, after he sees you in girl clothes, he'll definitely change his mind." I didn't really care what Zach thought after that, but I decided to let Macey do whatever she was going to do anyways.

"Who's Chris?" Liz asked. I shrugged. I had no idea.

"Well, we're going to have to wait until Mr. Solomon tells us where we're supposed to stay," I told Macey.

"No we don't," She countered, holding up her huge tote. Obviously, it was for a guy, but what was in it, was definitely not. We found a small storage closet, and went in there. We all changed into girl clothes, and Macey did everyone's make-up. She gave me all the second-best clothes (the first-best going to her, of course), and made me look even better than this morning.

"Thanks again, Mace," I exhaled. "You are a miracle worker."

"I know," she giggled.

"But can we just go back in there like this?" I asked, pointing to the very short skirts we were all wearing. Not to mention the low-cut tank tops. It's not like they were actually showing anything, but I still think it would be inappropriate.

"Well, I guess we should wait until they're done," Bex said, sounding disappointed. Liz was freaking out about what they were talking about in there, and if we were missing anything important, so Bex told her, "We'll get someone to tell us all the details," to calm her down.

"I think they're done," I said, hearing the commotion outside. "Should we go?"

"Yes," Macey said, very happy to get out of the small space. When we were all out, Macey sighed, "You guys were making me claustrophobic." We all giggled, until Mr. Solomon came up to us.

His eyebrows shot up at the sight of us, but I think he was too uncomfortable to say anything about it. "Ladies, we are all boarding the helicopter now. We're staying at the Chambroule' Hotel near town." He walked away, shaking his head slightly.

"We should go then," I said, quickly trailing after Mr. Solomon. But Macey's arm caught me.

"Slow, Cammie. You have to walk slow." So, we all "slow-walked" to the helicopter, attracting a lot of eyes.

"Cam, look," Liz whispered. I looked to where she was nodding, and saw Zach standing there, with his mouth gaping open. I turned my eyes back to the front and smirked. _Who's the wallflower now?_

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**wat did u think?? please review!! **


	3. Chapter 3

**hey, sorry but i had my relatives come over so i was kinda busier! but i got a break from the working. i just couldnt go on the computer or anything. one of my reviewer's, xladykittyx, let me know of this story, Love Undercover Love. id just like you to check it out and see how UNCREATIVE people with NO TALENT OF THEIR OWN act. if you think im being mean, just go see the story. read chapter 2.

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**

I layed in my bed, listening to the noises of the night. Bex's snoring, Macey's nose-whistle, and Liz's...well Liz doesn't really make any noise. Except for when she gets up in the middle of the night and stumbles over something. Then, there's quite a bit of noise. It was peaceful, and I could think. I gathered my thoughts of the day and went over them in my mind. The way Zach had acted, the things he said. I thought we ...well it was stupid of me to ever think Zach actually liked me. He probably just liked to mess with people.

"Ugh," I groaned, turning over in my bed. Thinking of why Zach does the things he does gives me a headache. I started to practice my deep breathing, closing my eyes and rubbing my temples. Then, I heard a soft thump. My mind suddenly got very alert. I stayed still, and listened to the intruders footsteps, coming nearer and nearer. When the sounds stopped, right beside my bed, I sprung into action. I took the mystery man's forearm and twisted it behind him as I jumped onto his back. Just as I opened my mouth to say something, the trespasser flipped me onto my back, pinning my arms with his hands. I moved my arms and legs, basically my entire body, trying to get out of the tight grasp.

"It's me," Zach whispered. He probably thought that would make me stop struggling, but I just fought harder. His eyes crinkled in confusion, and he whispered, "Gallagher Girl." But as soon as our eyes met, he understood. He freed one of his hands by putting both of my arms in the other hand. He cradled the side of my face, and breathed, "Cammie."

I stared at him with cold eyes, keeping silent.

"You know I didn't mean it, Cam," he told me, his beautiful green eyes pleading.

"Then why would you say it?" I spat.

"I-"

"Are you that ashamed, Zach?"

"No, it's not like that," he began, but I cut him off again.

"Then what is it like, Zach? I've been trying to understand it, but-" Zach's hand covered my mouth.

"I would if you would stop interrupting me," he said gently. "Can you do that?" he asked in a voice, his sparkling emerald eyes playful. I just rolled my eyes in response. He smiled and began talking. "Now, what I said at the table, that wasn't..."he thought of the right word. "Real. It's just stuff guys say to each other, like locker room talk. We're not like girls. We don't sit around getting mani-pedi's and talking about our **_feelings_**," he joked.

I whispered into the palm of his hand. "Can I say something now?" He debated it for a minute, and then removed his hand. "What _**do**_ you feel?"

"That's a secret," he smirked. I kept glaring at him. He sighed. "Come on, Gallagher Girl, what do you want from me?" Zach groaned.

"I want to know why you wouldn't admit that you even _**know**_ me to the guys."

He sighed again and told me what he had the year before. That it was none of their business. I was about to counter, but I heard someone shift around in their sleep.

"You should leave, Zach."

"Not until you say you forgive me."

"Fine, I forgive you. Now will you please leave?"

Zach shook his head. "You're a horrible liar." Bex snorted in her sleep, and Zach decided it would be best to leave, rather than get caught by Bex. Smart boy.

I climbed back into my bed, and thought of how to get revenge on Zach. When it finally hit me, I chuckled. _Chris._

~ZC~

**sorry its kinda short, but i thot you guys deserved at least something!**


	4. Chapter 4

As I walked up to a rusty old warehouse, I sighed to myself._ Way to go the extra mile, Solomon_.

"Come on, Cammie," Liz said, being the enthusiastic girl she was. "It'll be fun."

I smiled to myself and replied, "Yeah, it will be." My plan with Chris filled my mind, and confidence was flowing through me.

"Let's get in before my hair gets messed up!" Macey whined, running inside quickly. Bex, Liz, and I giggled as we followed her. As we entered the cafeteria, we scanned the room for the boys.

"There they are," Bex said, smiling at Grant.

As we started to walk towards them, I announced, "I'm going to go get some orange juice." I started to the beverages, but Liz caught me.

"Chris Henson is over there. That's the guy-"

"I know," I smiled at Liz. I looked him up later last night so I could put my plan into action today. She gave me a look of confusion, but decided to ask Macey what I was thinking instead of me.

"She's gonna make Zach jealous," Macey told her, looking bored. I guess none of the guys had caught her attention yet. "It's cute, but-"

I cut her off. "Kay, bye." I walked over to Chris and said cheerfully, "Good morning," as I poured myself a glass of juice.

"Morning," he responded nervously, quickening his routine.

"Umm are you okay?" I asked, clearly confused.

"Yeah, of course," Chris replied, speaking fast. "I just really have to go now." He looked over my shoulder, and I followed his gaze. It led to Zach (who immediately looked away) and I sighed.

"He's not going to anything. Just relax." I smiled, in an effort to calm him down.

Chris just shook his head. "I really doubt that. None of us guys are allowed to even speak to you."

"Allowed? What are you talking about?"

"I believe the exact words were 'If any of you so much as look at Cammie, I swear I'll beat the living shit out of you'. And I don't know about you, but I like my face the way that it is." He did have a nice face. His light brown hair fell over his forehead, just below his eyebrows, which led you to the vibrant blue eyes shimmering under his long, dark lashes. His jaw was clearly defined, and his lips looked inviting. _Snap out of it, Cammie_ I told myself. _You like Zach, remember? You shouldn't be looking at another guy's lips and thinking.._ I didn't even want to finish that thought.

"He won't do anything," I tried to assure him, but even I didn't believe that.

Chris just raised his eyebrows, as if to say "Really?"

"I guess I'll talk to you later," I said, taking my drink off the table. Chris just nodded quickly and speedily walked to his table. When I reached my own table, I was furious. Zach wouldn't admit that he liked me to his guy friends but he'd tell them to stay away from me? Who does he think he is?

"What's wrong?" Bex asked. "You looked ticked."

I forced a smile and said, "I'm fine." But Bex wasn't buying it. I sighed in defeat, "I'll tell you later." She smiled, clearly satisfied.

"If it makes you feel any better, Zach looks like he's gonna kill someone. I guess your jealousy plan worked." I looked at Zach, who was stabbing his scrambled eggs. I kicked him in the shin, and he stopped murdering his breakfast.

"What?" he hissed. I nudged my head over to the door, silently telling him we need to talk. He just went back to his eggs. I kicked him again, and this time he sighed and got up.

"Be back in a minute, " He mumbled as he walked to the exit. I followed after 6 minutes and 34 seconds.

"What was that?" He yelled.

"Don't yell at me!" I shouted back. "I don't even know what you're talking about!"

"I'm talking about you flirting with that freak Chris!"

"Okay first of all, I was NOT flirting, and sec-"

"Oh really? Then what was all that 'Hi I'm Cammie' crap?" He shouted, pretending to flip his hair and speaking in falsetto when he was mocking me.

"Excuse me?" I gasped. "I didn't even say that. All I said was 'Good morning'. But he was so freaked that you were gonna kill him that he would barely talk to me!"

"Good, he should be scared. I gave him fair warning-"

"So what's your plan, Zach? Make it so I can't go out with you, and in addition, scare all the other guys into not talking to me? Make me miserable from every possible angle?"

"It's not my fault if they're cowards," was all he had to say.

"They're not cowards, Zach! Look at you!" I said, emphasizing what I meant by grabbing his muscular arm. "I'd be worried if they weren't afraid of you." Zach started smirking. "What are you smirking about now?" I asked, exhausted.

"You think I'm pretty," He smiled.

"What?" I asked incredulously.

"Admit it. You think I'm pretty." It took all my restraint not to laugh. But Zach knew that I wouldn't last much longer. He started to tickle me and kept saying "Say it."

"Okay, okay," I giggled breathlessly. "I think you're pretty."

"What was that?" Zach asked, continuing to tickle me. "I couldn't hear you."

"I think you're pretty!" I said as loud as I could. "Now stop tickling me!" Zach finally stopped, and put his hand to his throat.

"I never knew, Gallagher Girl," he gasped, pretending to be surprised.

"Shut up," I giggled, playfully slapping his chest. Zach pulled me into a warm embrace and smiled, gently pulling my face up to kiss me.

It was long, and sweet, just like I'd dreamed it would be. But being me, it didn't last long.

"Ahem," Mr. Solomon said. I began to pull away, but Zach pulled me right back, smiling against my lips. I smiled too, until Mr. Solomon cleared his throat once again. "Ahem," he said, quite louder this time.

Zach finally pulled away, and said in faux innocence, "Oh, I'm sorry sir. I didn't see you there."

"I'm sure," was all Mr. Solomon said. "You two better get back inside. Important announcements are to be made." We both nodded and walked back into the cafeteria, hand in hand. Once people began to stare at our locked palms, I dropped my hand from Zach's. He just went right back and took it again.

"You know people can see us, right?" I asked him.

He just smirked and replied, "You know I'm a spy, right?" I rolled my eyes and sat down. While we were gone, Bex moved over next to Grant, so now Zach and I could sit together. When we were seated, I dropped Zach's hand once again. Zach looked at me again, and I mouthed "Solomon" to him. He nodded and turned to the podium.

"Now, as you can see, this will be your school for the next semester. You will train here. You will live here. You-"

"What happened to the Chambroule' Hotel?" Tina interrupted.

"Ms. Walters, in your career, you will not always be able to stay in fancy hotels. You will have to get a little dirt on your hands."

As Tina kept arguing pointlessly with Mr. Solomon, Zach put his hand on my bare leg.

"You should wear things like this more often," He whispered, running his hand higher up my thigh. I had completely forgotten about the mini skirt Macey had dressed me in this morning. He smirked when he saw my expression. "Cold, Gallagher Girl?" He asked, recognizing the goosebumps that had formed on my legs. "I think I can help with that." He started to run his hands up and down my leg, going from my knee to just below my panties. My breathing became labored, and Zach finally stopped, very satisfied with my response.

"Are you okay, Cammie?" Liz whispered.

"Yeah," I reassured her. "I just need to eat something. You know what lack of food does to me," I smiled.

Liz smiled and handed me an apple.

"Thanks," I smiled in appreciation. I took a bite out of the apple, the crunch being louder than I expected. I looked at the podium and found Mr. Solomon staring at me. I felt my cheeks instantly go red, and I smiled sheepishly in embarrassment. He just sighed and continued.

"Anyways, as I'm sure most of you know, certain relationships have been made. While it is good to have allies, remember they can be your greatest weakness." Mr. Solomon never took his eyes off me when he said this. _Do all announcements have to apply to me specifically?_ I sighed internally. Then Dr. Steve took the stage. He just went on about how 'excellent' it was to have us all here today, and how we'll all have an 'excellent' time together. We were all dismissed soon after.

"So do you want me to give you the grand tour?" Zach offered, showing off his knowledge.

"I think I can manage," I smirked, walking off with my sisters. "See you later, Blackthorne Boy," I sang, waving flirtatiously at him. It was sure to be a great semester.


	5. Chapter 5

**okay so i barely got any reviews last time! i really hope you guys review on this chapter and enjoy!

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"I hope you had a good sleep, ladies," Mr. Solomon said, walking in the classroom, late as usual.

"How could we? We had to sleep on dirty old cots," Tina muttered to no one in particular. She better learn to watch her mouth or it'd get her in big trouble.

"You were told last year that the road you are taking would not be an easy one **(A/N: im not sure if he actually said this, but i think it was pretty similar)**, Ms. Walters. Whining will get you nowhere."

"Won't stop her though, will it?" Bex whispered in my ear, her accent thick. I smiled in response.

"Now, for your assignment," Mr. Solomon began again, handing out manilla folders to each of us. "St. Augustine will be sponsoring a car wash, to raise money for toys to give to the sick children's hospital down the street. The car washes are one dollar a car-"

"Won't we make more money if we charged more?" Tina interrupted. Mr. Solomon didn't respond, he just gave Tina a warning glare. It seemed he was just as annoyed with Tina as we were.

"And any donations will be accepted. Your goal is to obtain a coin." He pulled out a small, golden coin, with a man I very well recognized on it.

"Brian Blackthorne," I whispered.

"Very good, Ms. Morgan. This is a coin that will give you access anywhere around the spy world. Whether you are a student of Blackthorne," He flipped the coin over. "Or Gallagher." The other side revealed Gilly Gallagher's face.

"Would we be allowed to keep the coin?" Bex asked, probably wondering the same thing as me. Would such a treasure would be given so easily?

"I'm afraid not, Ms. Baxter. But whoever convinces the person carrying this coin to come to their carwash will be allowed to trade the coin in for a night in the town. With the person of your choice. No curfew." _Oh. My. God._

All of our mouths dropped. Mr. Solomon was basically giving us a free pass to go out on a date. For **_as long as we wan__t_**.

"Sir," I raised my hand. "Why would we need to convince the person?" I asked, already knowing the answer.

Mr. Solomon smirked, knowing that I already knew what he was going to say. "You will be competing against the Blackthorne boys, Ms. Morgan."

~ZC~

"This is going to be bloody brilliant!" Bex shouted. "We are going to kick their butts!"

"What's wrong now, Cammie?" Macey asked. I just handed her my folder.

**Name: Susannah Hunt (likes to be called "Suzy")**

**Hobbies: Dancing, going to parties, shopping, cheerleading  
**

**Personality: Party-girl, a "flirt", relies on looks rather than brains  
**

"You're a shallow tease," Macey said simply, as if it would be the easiest thing in the world.

"Well what are you?" I asked, snatching her file.

**Name: Margaret Hannon (likes to be called "Margo")  
**

**Hobbies: Horseback riding, shopping, the occasional clubbing, cheerleading  
**

**Personality: Quiet (except around friends), smart, loyal**

"Why do I always get the socialite girl?" I whined in frustration. It's like they want to torture me. And when are they going to let that "Suzy" thing go? It's been a year!

"Oh, Cammie it's okay," Macey consoled, patting me on the head. "We'll help you."

"Thanks," I smiled. Macey has a _**lot**_ of experience being in the spotlight. She would be a major help. "So are we all cheerleaders or something?" I chuckled.

"I think so," Bex said, reading her file out loud.

**Name: Lilly Conway  
**

**Hobbies: Shopping, going to clubs, loves fashion, cheerleading  
**

**Personality: Loud, very opinionated, smarter than she lets on  
**

"That's me!" Macey screamed. "Well, except for the cheerleading thing."

"You are loud," I agreed. Macey gasped and shoved me playfully.

"It's a good thing!" I giggled.

"Uh-huh. I'm sure," Macey said. I just rolled my eyes.

"Come on, I wanna go see what Liz is up to." We walked over to the computer lab.

"Sure know how to clear a room, don't you Cam?" Bex asked, gesturing to all the boys that were immediately leaving upon my arrival.

"You're like our own little can of boy repellent," Macey chuckled. I slapped her shoulder. Among the sea of boys, I saw Chris, who was swiftly walking our way.

"Hey," I said with excitement as he reached us.

"Hey," he said quickly, not even stopping.

"Wow, he's really scared of Zach, isn't he?" Macey said rhetorically. "I mean, I don't blame him. He does have nice arms, but Chris isn't exactly scrawny either." I looked at Chris' arms. Even from a distance I could tell that they were really defined. Maybe not as impressive as Zach's, but they were still something.

"Yeah."

"Hey," Liz greeted us happily. "What are you doing here?"

"Visiting you, silly," I answered. "Have fun with Jonas?" I sang. Liz's cheeks went tomato red.

"Hey, Gallagher Girl," Zach said, wrapping his arm around my waist. "Excited about the car wash?" I didn't answer, I just said, "Mmm," and removed his arm from my back. "Don't worry, I'll take you when we win."

"Who else were you planning on taking?" Bex asked. Before Zach could even say anything, Macey pounced on him.

"And that's not why she isn't talking to you," Macey said pointedly. We started walking away, and I heard Liz's "Bye," to Jonas. I could still hear the boys' conversation.

"Dude, you're ruining it for all of us," Grant said, punching Zach in the shoulder (at least that's what it sounded like).

"Hey, I don't even know what I did," Zach replied. "And it seems like things are going good with Jonas," Zach said, looking at Jonas' blushing face (I'm assuming).

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**the next chapter will be the carwash! i actually have in mind what im going to write. this chapter and the last i didnt know what to write. i just wrote. but i think the next chapter is going to be amazing! please review~**


	6. Chapter 6

**Hey guys...sorry for not updating but school and stuff got in the way. im gonna try to update more, but i cant promise. if anyone has any ideas they want me to incorporate PM me. if you just wanna see what my mind cooks up, tell me that too. i hope you enjoy**

I took in a deep breath and exhaled slowly._ Come on, Cam, you can do it. I mean it's just a bikini, right? And it's not like you'll be the only one in one. And you have stuff over it. For now, at least. And_-

"Will you just come out here already?" Macey basically shouted. I could tell if I didn't come out in the next 5 seconds, she'd drag me out, so I opened the door quickly and said "I'm out, I'm out," holding my hands up.

"About time," she grumbled. I gave her that puppy-dog pout, and immediately she crumbled (well, not immediately. Remember, she's a Gallagher Girl). "Okay, I forgive you." I smiled brightly, glad my pout worked so quickly. "But you are going to have to do **_something_** about your confidence issues. It's not helping you at all." I nodded.

"Ready to get your butt kicked Gallagher Girl?" I heard a voice whisper in my ear. I turned around and saw Zach standing there grinning.

"I wouldn't be so sure about that if I were you," I said, glaring at him and poking him in the chest. I was still mad at him for making me "a can of boy-repellent" as ___ stated.

"Oh really?" he replied, raising his eyebrows. He looked over my shoulder and added, "We'll see about that." Then, he looked back to the rest of the guys and gave them a little nod. And then, _**all of them took their shirts off**_. With that, he walked over to the guys' car wash station.

I just stood there, paralyzed. Blackthorne Boys were definitely not like normal guys.

"What are you guys doing?" Bex yelled. "People are pulling in! Start washing!" We had about 8 cars already. I glanced subtlety and saw that they already had 19. 19!

"That's so not fair," Bex whined. I raised my eyebrows at her. Bex never whines. "What? I didn't get to eat this morning."

"Actually," Macey began, with that I-have-a-brilliant-idea look on her face. "I think we can sway the odds in our favor."_ Oh, no_ I thought to myself. Macey whispered her idea to Bex, whose eyes instantly lit up.

Bex pulled me with her to stand on top of a car that was waiting to be washed.

"What are we going to do?" I asked, frightened of the answer.

"We're gonna flash," she answered with an excited glint in her eye.

"What?!" I screamed loudly. Apparently, it was so loud that people from the building next to us looked out of their windows to see what all the commotion was about. My face went red as I whispered to Bex, "That's not going to happen. My mom can see us, not to mention Mr. Solomon, and-"

"Cameron Morgan, you are a Gallagher Girl, and Gallagher Girls will do whatever necessary to succeed in the mission. Am I right?" I didn't answer, I just looked down at my bare toes. "I said, am I right?"

"Yeah, yeah," I mumbled.

"Good. Now, on the count of three. One, two, three!" We screamed and lifted up our bikini tops. Horns started honking from at least a 2 mile radius. When we put our tops back down, we had 37 cars at our station.

"Wow, that actually worked," I said softly to myself.

"Of course it did," Macey retorted. "If I didn't get stuck with the quiet chick, I would've done it myself." I was beginning to think that Macey could use a little more fun in this mission. When Macey turned around to get started on a car, I threw a sponge dripping with water at her back.

"You. Did. Not. Just. Do. That." Macey growled, turning around slowly.

I just giggled and said, "Oh, didn't I?" and threw another sponge at her. This time, I couldn't hold in the laughter. I was hunched over laughing hysterically. Suddenly, I felt a shot of cold water coming at me.

"Ahhh!" I yelled, looking up to see Macey shooting a hose in my direction. I started running around, trying to get rid of her. Macey wouldn't give up, though.

"This was a **_new_** Calvin Klein swimsuit!" she shrieked. "It hasn't even been released for purchase yet!"

"It's a swimsuit! It's meant to get wet!"

"Well not this one!"

"What?" I giggled.

"You heard me!" she screamed, still shooting me furiously with ice cold water.

I continued to run until I collided into something. "Oh I'm sorry," I apologized, looking up. "Chris," I breathed. "Hey," I greeted, but he was already walking away. Suddenly filled with anger at Zach, I looked at him. He was flirting with some bimbo! I walked towards our "cooler" and took out a balloon. I figured we might need something to keep things like that away from our guys, so we filled up water balloons with paint and put them in the cooler. I aimed at the girl and fired. It hit her right in the head, just as I planned, and soaked her blonde waves with green paint.

I could hear her shrill shriek and turned away, literally falling onto the ground with laughter.

Bex was laughing, too, and between breaths said, "Bloody brilliant, Cam." I nodded in thanks, still shaking with delight.

"So seventh grade," Macey sighed, shaking her head. You could still tell she was stifling laughter.

Once I had sobered up, I asked, "What do you suggest?"

"Another time," was all she said.

"Whatever. Zach looks pretty amused," Bex said, gesturing towards him. She was right, he looked like he was stifling laughter as well. It looked like all of the guys were trying not to laugh.

"Come on, we have some cars to wash," Macey said, pointing to the long line behind us.

When I was washing my fifth car, I noticed a car pull up in the middle of the lot. Instantly, I could tell it was the car with the coin. I ran up to it and knocked on the glass.

"Can I help you?" a girl asked, her voice snotty.

"Hey, I was just wondering if you guys would like a car wash today," I said in a chipper voice. "Only a dollar."

"That's it? Wow, you're never gonna make any money like that," she replied, staring at the screen of her enV touch.

"I know," I whined, "But my Youth Group Counselor won't charge more."

"That hottie on the sidewalk?" she asked, looking up, suddenly interested. "He's your counselor?"

"Yeah, I know right? It has **_got_** to be a sin to be that gorgeous. I mean,-"

"Those eyes" we both sighed at the same time.

"Um, hello?" the driver asked, making his appearance known. "I'm right here, babe."

The girl giggled and said, "Oops! Sorry." She leaned over and kissed him on the cheek.

"I'm McKenzie and this is my boyfriend, Brad."

"Nice to meet you," Zach said, flashing a smile.

I could hear McKenzie's breath catch, and whisper to herself, "You've got a boyfriend."

"Hey, man," Brad said, and he and Zach did one of those guy hug things through the window.

"Who's he?" Mckenzie whispered to me fanning herself. "He's hot." I wanted to punch her, but I knew I shouldn't. I mean, it's only every girl's first reaction to Zach. Might as well get used to it.

"That's Zach," I told her, glaring at my boyfriend. He just smirked at me and winked. I mean, he actually winked.

"Are you two..." she trailed off, looking back and forth between Zach and I.

"Sorta," I mumbled.

"Hey, we're gonna go over there," Brad told Mckenzie, saying it in a way as if he was asking for permission.

"Mckenzie looked at me with a look that said, "Give me a better offer".

I leaned in and whispered, "Come with me and I'll put in a good word with Mr. Ashby** (A/N: Solomon's cover name)**. He's single." Mckenzie was still waiting. "And we have Calvin Klein bikini that isn't even on the market yet." That is what put her over the edge.

"Sweetie, I wanna go over there," she said in a pleading voice, nudging to our station. She looked at him and whispered something in his ear.

"Sorry dude," he said and sped to the girls' station. I could only guess what she had told him.

"I told you not to be so cocky," I said to Zach. "It's not an attractive quality." Well, it was to me, but I wasn't going to let him know that. I started walking back to the station when I heard a splat behind me. I turned around and found Zach covered with blue paint. I turned back to my station to see which one of my girls did that, but found Grant to be the culprit.

"Good job!" he shouted sarcastically to Zach.

I turned back to Zach and the hysterics began again.

~ZC~

"Okay, you're done," Macey, Bex, and Liz said in unison. It was creepy how they did that. I looked in the mirror and saw that beautiful person once again. The one that always appeared after Macey worked her magic. I still got that same feeling in the pit of my stomach when I looked at it.

"Thanks," I breathed, deep appreciation obvious in my voice.

"No problem," Macey smiled. The doorbell rang and she added, "Now you don't wanna be late for your date."

I exited the bathroom and answered the door.

"Wow, I didn't think you'd show up."

"Neither did I," replied Chris.


	7. Chapter 7

We sat down at a booth, face to face. Let the interrogation begin.

"So what exactly did Zach say to you?"

" 'If any of you so much as look at Cammie, I swear I'll beat the living shit out of you', " he answered, looking around nervously. "Are you sure Zach won't-"

"Yes," I said, exasperated. I get that Zach is intimidating, but this was the **_seventh_** time he asked that. This boy seriously needs to build a backbone. "And besides, I told you, this isn't an actual date."

Chris raised an eyebrow. "You don't think Zach will take it as that though?"

I sighed and assured, "I'll deal with it if he does." Chris just shook his head and ran his hand through his hair.

After taking a sip of his Pepsi, he asked, "So what else do you wanna know?"

"When did Zach let out this 'warning'?"

"The night of your arrival."

So many other questions were going through my mind. _Did Zach ever looked like he was thinking about me? What does he do in his spare time? Does he ever say anything about me? Do you think h- Snap out of it, Cammie!_

"What was his expression when he said this?"

Chris gave me a confused look. "Umm, mad?"

"You're a spy!" I whisper-shouted at him. "It's your job to pay attention to details," I told him, remembering my very first CoveOps lesson. Then a thought occurred to me. "Wait, how long have you been going to Blackthorne?"

"I just started last year," he answered sheepishly.

"What did you do?" To be a spy, you had to have done something incredible.

"Busted a teacher for-" he cut himself off. I waited 2.1 seconds for him to continue. "I'm not allowed to talk about it." He took another sip of his Pepsi, this time gulping down almost three quarters of the cup.

"Thirsty?" Chris looked down, embarrassed. I giggled to reassure him. He looked back up and smiled. Then, as if he had just remembered something, he straightened up.

He cleared his throat and asked, "Is that it?"

"Nope. Does Za-"

"Will you excuse me for a second?" he cut me off, rushing his words.

"Sure," I answered, but he had already let himself out of the booth and began walking to the restroom. "Guess all that Pepsi got to him," I said to myself.

After 3 minutes and 48 seconds of waiting, he finally came back. But it wasn't the person I had been expecting.

"What are you doing here, Zach?" I asked, looking over my shoulder. "Where's Chris?"

"He had to leave," Zach answered simply. I shot him a look and he sighed, adding, "Relax. I didn't beat him up or anything." I just raised my eyebrows and gave him another look that said "Yeah right". "I didn't!" Zach exclaimed, putting his hands up, leaning back into the red cushion of the booth. "I promise."

"Then what did you do?" I asked.

"I just gave him another warning, for your sake. Otherwise, I would've kicked the guy's ass."

"Why are y-"

"No," he said, cutting me off. "It's my turn to ask the questions. What were you doing here with Chris?"

"I don't see how that's any of your business," I answered, crossing my arms and looking away. If he didn't have to tell me things, then I wouldn't tell him things.

"I'm your boyfriend, anything you do is my business," he replied, leaning in and making me face him.

"I'm your girlfriend, and you don't tell me everything that goes on in your life," I retorted.

"Fine," he said, leaning back into his previous position. "What do you want to know?"

I thought about this for a minute. "What will you tell me?"

"Just tell me what you want to know," he said, his beautiful eyes staring into mine. When I started thinking about what I wanted to ask him, I blushed and looked away.

Zach came to my side of the booth and sat down, putting his arm around me. "Hey Gallagher Girl," he whispered, taking his other hand and cradling my face, lifting it so that our eyes were locked. "You're cute when you get embarrassed," he smiled. I smiled back, the anger melting away. For now, at least. I leaned up and gave him a kiss, smiling shyly when I pulled back. His smile spread wider as his thumb rubbed my cheek. Then, he leaned in and gave me a kiss. It wasn't long, but it was sweet. It still gave me that feeling. It was like the screamy-feeling in the pit of my stomach I got whenever I saw him, except magnified 100 times.

"So are you gonna ask me anything or just kiss me all night? 'Cause personally, I prefer the second option," he smirked.

"Can I take a rain check on the questions?"

"Hmmm.." Zach hummed, making a show of pondering this. "I don't know.."

"Zach," I whined, playfully hitting his chest.

He chuckled and said, "Sure." He bent down to kiss me again, this time, putting his hand through my hair, keeping me close to him.

When he finally released me, I asked, "So are we just gonna make out the rest of the time?"

"That was the plan," he told me. "But on second thought..." he trailed off, getting up. "You asked Chris out instead of me, so I can't technically be here."

"So?" I said, sounding like a 4-year old after her mother told her she couldn't eat a cookie because it was too close to dinner.

But instead of answering, Zach just leaned in and whispered, "See you tomorrow, Gallagher Girl," before softly brushing his lips against mine. Once he left the restaurant, I raised my cool hand to my overheated cheek. _Zachary Goode, the things you do to a girl.  
_

**Sorry if you think its not enough detail or anything. im just trying to give you guys new chapters. review:)**


	8. Chapter 8

"Macey if we're late, I swear to G-"

"Relax, I'm almost done," Macey assured me, putting the finishing touches on my make up. "If you knew how to properly apply your make up, we'd be done quicker." I just rolled my eyes and waited. I knew she secretly enjoyed doing this kind of stuff.

"Are you almost done?" Tina called from the main room. "Other people need the bathroom, too, you know!" Since we weren't staying at the hotel anymore, we all had to share the same space. And only **_one_** bathroom. You'd think a highly-trained spy would know better, right? Nope. Maybe Solomon was punishing us for Tina's frequent outbursts...

Macey started to mutter certain "things" under her breath, so I put a hand on her arm and said, "Calm down. Even though we'd all like to hurt Tina, she's still our sister."

She just shook her head and continued muttering. "..Don't care if she's a sister...still gonna kick her butt..." I couldn't help it, I exploded with laughter.

"Cammie!" Macey groaned, quickly pulling her hand away from my eye. "Do you have any idea how dangerous eye liner can be?"

"I'm guessing very," I giggled. Macey gave me a stern look (the kind my mom uses when I'm in trouble), and I sobered quickly.

"Now hold still," she ordered, grabbing my chin firmly. I mumbled a small "Ow." Sometimes, Macey forgets her own strength. "Don't be a baby," she said softly, very focused on my face.

After 49 seconds and 3 seconds, Tina burst into the bathroom. "Okay, you guys need to- Owww!" she screamed in pain, clutching her eye. "My eye!"

I looked over at Macey when I saw the eye liner pencil on the floor, approximately 4 inches away from Tina. "What?" she shrugged. "She surprised me," she finished, her eyes sparkling.

"I guess eye liner is dangerous," I mumbled, exiting the bathroom.

"What's all the commotion?" Liz asked, peering over my shoulder, seeing Tina hunched over in a dramatic pose.

"It's nothing," Macey said simply. "She just had a little cosmetic problem." Liz nodded, still not fully understanding by the look on her face.

"I'll explain on the way to class," I said, putting a hand on her shoulder. She sighed in relief. Elizabeth Sutton did not like not understanding things.

"Are you guys ready?" Bex asked impatiently. "I'm starving," my best friend groaned. We all giggled and made our way to the cafeteria.

~ZC~

My glass was halfway to my lips when Zach sat down next to me and put his hand on my leg. I almost threw my glass into the air, and Zach chuckled and said, "Calm down, Gallagher Girl." I just glared at him. Then, a thought occurred to me. _Since he knows what he can do to me, I'll show him what I can do to him_ I smirked. But not now.

"What are you planning?" Zach asked me cautiously, noticing me smirking.

"You'll find out soon enough," I said sweetly, giving him a kiss on the cheek. He just stared into my eyes, as if he could find his answer there.

"Okay," he mumbled as he leaned in for a kiss. But he suddenly jerked back, but not of his own accord. Mr. Solomon had pulled him away (not that I would've kissed him anyway, I was going to make him wait)

"Hands to yourself, Mr. Goode," he commanded, glaring at Zach's hand, which was still resting on my thigh!

"Yes sir," he said, moving his hand upwards when he removed it (which he did very slowly). Mr. Solomon just glared and walked away.

"Do you have a death wish?" I asked incredulously, slapping his chest with the back of my hand.

Zach just shrugged and told me not to worry about it, leaning in for another kiss. A loud whine came from the microphone, causing Zach to move back. Everyone looked up to see Mr. Solomon glaring at Zach.

"Sorry about that," he mumbled. "I'd just like to announce that if certain associations can't be handled properly, we will be forced to return to keeping Blackthorne and Gallagher separate." Everyone turned around to glower at Zach and I."That is all," he finished.

"Lay off for a while," Grant said, leaning across the table to punch Zach in the arm.

"Sure, buddy," Zach replied, punching Grant back, with excessive force.

"He's right," I whispered to Zach. "Let's just stay low for a while." I guess I would have to put off my plan for a while.

He took my hand and squeezed softly. "Sure," he said. But knowing Zach, I knew he had no intention of laying low.

"I mean it, " I said firmly, staring into Zach's deep green eyes.

"I know," he replied, smirking. Since I knew Zach so well, I could tell he had no intention on laying low. I just kept staring at him for a little while, but then sighed. There was no changing Zach's mind once it's been made up.

"Keep your hands to yourself!" Grant yelled, prying our hands apart, slapping my hand on my leg, and Zach's on his leg.

"Would you relax," Zach said, exhaustively. "We're not even doing anything."

"Yeah, right. Don't think I don't know what's going on over here," he said, sounding like a paranoid conspiracy theorist. "I'm watching you," he whispered, walking away, making a "V" with his pointer and middle finger, pointing them to his eyes, and then to us.

"Whatever," Zach muttered. I took Zach's hand again and began to trace patterns on the back on his hand.

When I finally looked up, I noticed that everyone else had left; it was just Zach and I left in the huge warehouse.

"Go on and head to class, I'll be there in a minute," he said, as if he was reading my mind. Before I could ask him where he was going, he was already a quarter of the way across the room.

"Sure Zach, you can go wherever. Don't feel like you have to inform me about anything," I muttered to myself as I walked to CoveOps.

~ZC~

"Good job, Ladies," Mr. Solomon congratulated. "You've passed your weekly exam." After last year's final exam, taking down Dr. Steve was that difficult. The guy isn't all that great at taking a punch. "You are dismissed." As the room began to empty, Mr. Solomon called for me to stay.

"Cammie, I promised your mother I would look after you, so," If I didn't have more respect for Mr. Solomon, I'd stop him here. But I let him continue. "About Zach." He looked extremely uncomfortable.

"Sir, if you don't want t-"

"No, I will," He insisted.

"I can take care of myself," I assured, trying to make this easier for him. It was sweet of him to look after me, but I don't need looking after.

"I know," he sighed. "It's just..." he trailed off. He looked as if he were deep in thought, like if he was wondering if he should say something. I guess he decided to say it, because he finally whispered, "Rachel feels you need a father figure right now."

I just stood there, numb with shock.

"I'm sorry, Ms. Morgan, you may leave," he rushed, turning to do something. I walked away slowly, still wearing an expression of astonishment on my face.

"Are you okay, Cam?" Liz asked me, her eyes worried. "You look like you'd just seen a ghost."

"I'm okay," I said, dazed. Solomon was trying to be a father. **_My_** father. It was a nice gesture, but how could he think he could replace my father. But he didn't come up with this, my mom did. "I just need to have a little chat with my mom. I've really been missing our dinners."

"You know you can't leave campus, right?"

"Of course. That's why web-cams were invented."

~ZC~

I gently put my laptop down next to the sink, on the bathroom counter. After closing the lid on the toilet, I sat down with my dinner in my lap. Before accepting the video chat invitation, I checked for bugs. None. Huh, I guess Tina is getting lazy. I clicked the "Accept" button and breathed, "Hi Mom."

"Hey, honey. How are you holding up?" she asked.

"Okay. I'd be better if we had separate rooms, and more than one bathroom."

She shook her head, finishing a bite of spaghetti. "I told Joe it was a bad idea to put you all in one space, but you know how men can be," my mom rolled her eyes. "Speaking of men," she prompted. "How are things with Zach? I hear you're getting...close."

"We're doing fine," I responded sharply. " My mother squinted her eyes at me, but only a spy would notice.

"Really? It doesn't sound like it."

"Zach isn't my problem right now."

"Then what is?" she asked, already knowing the answer.

"Why don't you tell me?"

She sighed. "Fine. I asked Mr. Solomon to look after you. But only beca-"

"It doesn't matter, Mom! You can't just ask him to do things like that!" I shouted, knowing no one could hear me, courtesy of my friends. They took all the girls out to play a little prank on the boys, knowing I would appreciate (and need) the privacy.

"Cameron, you are a spy. You should be prepared to be watched."

"That's not what I'm talking about," I said shakily.

Her eyebrows furrowed for a moment, before she hit realization. "Oh," was all she could say. _That's all you can say?! Oh?!_ I wanted to scream. Suddenly, the connection was cut.

"Ughhh!" I screamed, throwing my plate on the floor. After steadying my breath, I got up and cleaned up my mess. _I can't believe she hung up on me_ I thought as I pulled the covers up to my shoulders. I just closed my eyes and took 3 cleansing breaths. I relaxed myself and went to sleep. I thought of Zach, and hoped for sweet dreams.

* * *

**hey, could you guys tell me how im doing with the writing? it kinda feels like im losing my touch...**


	9. Chapter 9

**Hey I'd just like to say thank you soooo much to Bridgett and Skatr and everyone else who reviewed! Bridgett, your review made my day!**

* * *

"Really, Cam?" Bex said rhetorically. "Okay, just remember you brought this on yourself.

"Ahhh!!" I screamed, jolting up. "Bex!" I (and the rest of my bed) was soaked with ice cold water.

"I warned you," she said calmly, placing the bucket on the ground. "It's not my fault if you decide to have naughty dreams about Zach all night."

"You're having naughty dreams about Zach?" Tina inquired, quickly tuning into the conversation.

"No," I answered, annoyance leaking into my voice.

Bex shot Tina a look that said, "Don't mess with either of us right now, unless you're prepared to get your butt kicked", so Tina immediately left. Anyone that knew Bex knew she wasn't kidding.

"Come on," Macey called, leaning against the bathroom entrance, eye liner in hand. I sighed and got up, preparing for the day.

~ZC~

Setting my plate down, I sighed and sat down.

"Still ticked off from last night?" Zach asked, sitting down. When I looked at him questioningly, he continued, "I know your mom can be strict and all, but hanging up on you? That's wrong."

I just sighed and shook my head. "I'm not even going to ask." _Note to self: Get Liz to search for bugs when we get to our room._

"Just so you know, Gallagher Girl," he said softly, leaning in. "I'm going to kiss you now."

"Oh no, you're not," Grant interrupted, shoving Zach's head back.

"What the heck man?" Zach exclaimed.

"I'm not gonna let you ruin this for all of us because you can't keep your hands to yourself for two minutes."

Zach's hand balled up and he mumbled something bad in Russian. I put my hand on Zach's fist, and unraveled it so that we were holding hands. I rubbed the back of his hand gently and whispered, "Just a couple more days."

"Do I have to tell you too, Cam?" Grant asked.

"Seriously, Grant, relax. I'm dealing with Solomon." He mumbled "Whatever," and I added, "Besides, it's not like you keep your hands to yourself either. Don't think I don't know why Bex's face is all lit up when she comes home at night."Bex kicked me under the table, and I yelled, "F-ohhh," stopping myself before I said something I shouldn't.

"What was that?" Zach asked, his lips twitching as he tried not to laugh or smile.

"Nothing," I squeaked, looking down at my plate so I didn't have to look at everyone staring at me.

"Didn't sound like nothing," he said, still trying not to laugh. He poked me in my side and I jerked the opposite way.

"Ahh!" I shrieked in surprise.

Bex started to laugh and giggled, "Good thing you don't quack like Kim."

"What?" Grant asked.

"Whenever you poke Kim in her side, she quacks," I explained. **(A/N: lol i know a girl that actually does this. its hilarious!)**

"Really?" he muttered, getting up. Grant walked over to Kim and started to "talk" with her. Kim was so occupied staring into Grant's eyes that she basically screamed when he jabbed her.

"Quack!" When Kim's face went extremely red as everyone erupted in laughter, Grant whispered something to her that immediately cheered her up.

"What did you say to her?" Liz asked when Grant returned.

He shrugged. "I said I thought her quacking was cute."

"Did you?" Bex asked, crossing her arms as she faced him.

"Did I what?" Grant asked, his face apparent with fear. Poor guy has no idea what he did.

"Think it was cute?"

"No," he said quickly, giving her a kiss. "You know I only have eyes for you," he mumbled softly.

"Whipped!" Zach coughed, Jonas quickly following, soon forming a chant.

"Oh, like you're not," Grant shouted, his face slightly darkening. His tan hid the light pink shade it would've been.

"Whatever," Zach chuckled, taking a bite of his eggs.

Dr. Steve took the podium. He cleared his throat and began, "Hello, students. Jo- I mean Mr. Solomon had the most excellent idea. Today, you will all spend the day in town, as a token of your excellent behavior. Have an excellent time!"

"What did you say to Solomon?" Bex whispered.

"Not much," I said emptily, focusing more on my thoughts. _I guess he feels really guilty.._ I concluded. _Or maybe Mom talked to him._

"Hello? You there, Gallagher Girl?" Zach teased, gently knocking on my forehead.

I smiled and looked up at him. He held out his hand to help me up; I took it and he pulled me up so I was standing in front of him. "Sorry, I kind of spaced out."

"Gee, I couldn't tell," he said sarcastically as we walked out of the cafeteria.

"Be quiet," I said, slapping his chest playfully.

When we reached town, I asked Zach what he wanted to do. He pulled me into a quiet corner in the street and mumbled, "This," under his breath. As he leaned in to kiss me, I quickly took an abandoned cone of ice cream and smashed it into the side of his face.

"You're gonna pay for that, Gallagher Girl," he whispered menacingly, wiping the sticky desert off of his defined face.

"Oh, really?" I giggled, slipping out of his grip. "We'll see," I called as I ran. I could hear Zach behind me, catching up quickly. I started to take many turns and tried to make it as hard as possible for Zach to catch me. I suddenly collided with something.

"Oh, I'm so sorry!" I said, looking down to see who I knocked over. "Josh?"

"Cammie?" he asked, getting up. "What are you doing here?"

"I was just about to ask you the same thing.." I trailed off.

"Gotcha," Zach whispered in my ear as his arms captured my waist. He followed my gaze to Josh. "Hey, Jimmy, right?"

"Josh," he corrected, clearly looking hurt.

"Right," Zach nodded, quickly dismissing it. "So what are you doing here? Don't you live like, 3,000 miles away?" It was actually 4,931.7 miles, but that's not exactly a fact everyone would know.

"My mom's competing in one of these pie competitions." Josh rolled his eyes. "You know how crazy she is about her pies," he said, looking directly at me.

"Yeah," I said softly. "It is good pie, though," I giggled.

"Yeah," he smiled.

"Well," Zach interrupted loudly. "We have to go, but it was nice seeing you," he said, pulling me in the opposite direction.

"Wait, Cammie, you still haven't told me why you're here," he called, trailing after us.

"Our schools are doing another exchange," Zach answered, not stopping, or even turning around.

"Oh," I heard Josh say, his voice faint.

"Bye," I said, turning around to wave at him. Josh waved back, instantly perking up, and then walked somewhere else. "You could at least be nice to him," I said to Zach, who was still dragging me somewhere.

"What are you talking about? I was perfectly polite."

I scoffed. "Yeah, a perfect angel."

Zach swiftly smacked a strawberry ice-cream-filled cone on my cheek.

"Zach!" I gasped loudly.

"I warned you," he replied simply, walking forward.

"No you didn't," I retorted, holding my palm inches away from my face.

"I said you were gonna pay for before," he said. I stood frozen, stuck in my position.

"Oh don't be such a baby," he said, walking back to me. Then, without a warning, Zach kissed my cheek, cleaning up the ice cream. I gasped in surprise, and I felt Zach smirk. He kept doing this until my entire cheek was clean. "See, no big deal." I just stood there, my eyes huge, mouth gaping as I stared at Zach. He chuckled and kissed my lips, one of his hands on my hip, the other cradling the back of my neck.

"Ohhh," Macey basically growled, walking exceptionally quickly towards us. "Zachary Goode, I am going to kill you," she said, pulling Zach and me apart, inspecting my slightly wet cheek. She started dragging me to the nearest restroom to fix my make up. I just kept on looking at Zach, who was smirking. I smiled, touching my pocket, anxious to read what he had wrote.


	10. Chapter 10

I layed on my mattress and sighed happily, thinking back to Zach's note.

_C-  
Meet me at the Town Square at 11:00. _

_ -Z_

_ P.S. Try not to come with a comms unit. I  
want to talk to you, not your friends._

"Mmm," I sighed again, resting my head on my pillow, looking at the clock, even though I just checked it a minute ago._ 9:07_. I turned over and closed my eyes, imagining what Zach's going to look like tonight. _The strong, muscular arms I know so well wrapping around me, that dark hair tousled in just the right places ,his emerald eyes glistening in the moonlight, lips wearing that signature smirk._ Just as I was drifting into pure bliss, a shrill voice snapped me back to reality.

"Cammie! Come on, you can't go to sleep now! It's not even 10!" Tina screamed.

"I wasn't sleeping!" I snapped, enraged at being so abruptly jerked out of my amazingly intense daydream.

"Okay, okay, it just looked like you were," she said, putting her palms in the air, showing me that she was backing off. "Geez, remind me why does Zach like you again?" she mumbled as she walked away.

"At least I **_have_** a boyfriend," I said loudly, making sure she heard me. Being in the same room with all of the girls was starting to get to me. Tina turned around and mumbled something to herself, and Macey asked Tina something immediately after, looking extremely menacing. Tina quickly said something and power-walked away. I sighed in frustration, silently cursing Mr. Solomon for not teaching us about lip-reading yet.

"What was that about?" I asked Macey as she neared.

"Oh, nothing," she replied simply. "Tina's just a bitch."

"Well, then," I said. I had gotten used to Macey's cussing over the last year. And it is sort of true. Tina can be a..well, you know.

"Yup. So, when are you meeting Zach?"

"I don't know what you're talking about, Macey. I'm not meeting Zach," I answered calmly, but still slightly surprised. _How did she know? Oh wait, this is the boy expert we're talking about. _I thought, mentally giving myself a "Duh!" slap. _She's omniscient._

"Oh, don't give me that crap, Cammie. I know what it means when a girl keeps sighing, and smiling, and daydreaming, it's usually because of a boy. So wh-"

"I wasn't daydreaming," I interrupted.

"Yeah, right," she replied, obviously not buying it. "You're telling me you just decided to blow up on Tina, because she thought you were sleeping?" I just kept silent, which gave her the answer she was expecting. "That's what I thought. Now, when and where are you meeting him?" Macey crossed her arms and stared me dead in the eyes, her ice blue eyes piercing.

"11:00 at the Town Square." I caved in.

"Meet me in the bathroom at 10:35," was all she said before walking back to wherever she was before.

~ZC~

"Okay, take a look," Macey said to me, stepping back. I stood up and looked into the mirror. My hair was put up in a messy bun, making it look like I had just gotten out of bed (in a good way), and I was simply dressed in a purple tank top and khaki shorts, which were higher than mid-thigh-but not in a slutty way. My face looked virtually make-up-less, even though Macey had sat for a good 15 minutes doing it. Apparently the natural look is a lot more work than I had imagined.

"It's," I began, searching for accurate words.

"I know it's probably not what you were expecting, but you don't want to look like you're trying too hard, so I just-"

"Macey," I interrupted. "It's perfect," I told her, smiling. "Thanks."

"No problem," Macey smiled back. She checked her watch and hurried," It's almost 11, Cam. You have to leave. Now." After being shoved out of the door, I ran to Town, and waited on a quiet corner in the street. I waited for 2 minutes and 39 seconds before I felt a pair of strong arms wrap around from behind me.

"Hey, Gallagher Girl, been daydreaming about me lately?" I heard Zach say, his warm breath on the back of my neck._ Forgot to check for bugs_ I internally sighed.

I turned around to face him, and whispered, "Be quiet," before leaning up to kiss him.

"Mmm," he hummed against my lips. "Yes ma'am," Zach whispered. We just stood there, kissing, for what felt like forever. Suddenly, I heard footsteps.

"Did y-" I started after abruptly pulling away from him. Zach put a finger on my lips and nodded. He leaned back into me, and whispered so only I could hear, "Pretend you didn't hear anything."

"What?" I whisper-shouted.

"Shh," he shushed me, silencing me with a kiss. "Trust me."

"What's going on, Zach?" I asked, brushing my lips lightly against his.

"I'll explain tomorrow." Zach leaned his forehead on mine, stared into my eyes and whispered, "Go back to your room. Do not tell anyone, under any circumstances, about this, understand?" kissing me once more.

"Yeah," I whispered, kissing him one last time. I ran back to my room, thoughts rushing through my mind. _Who was out there? How did Zach know? What does this person want with us? _Then a darker thought emerged. _What do they want with me?_

~ZC~

"Cammie, are you sure you're okay? You seem kind of.." Bex trailed off.

"Jumpy," Macey finished. All three girls squinted their eyes at me.

"I'm fine, you guys. Seriously," I said for the fourteenth time.

"Did something happen with Zach?" Liz asked softly. "Because if it did, you can te-"

"Nothing happened with Zach," I assured. "Everything is fine."

"You know, you shouldn't be that mad at Zach. I mean, we are spies. We're supposed to plant bugs and-" Liz continued, before I cut her off. I had finally gotten Liz to check for bugs, and we'd found one, in the last place I would have expected. On my underwear. That day in the cafeteria, Zach wasn't just being a hormone-crazed boy; he'd planted a bug. Liz said that it was one of the most advanced bugs she'd ever seen. Waterproof, undetectable by the touch. When Zachary Goode does something, he doesn't do it halfway.

"I know that, I'm not mad at him, Liz." I was really starting to get annoyed now.

"Did Tina say something?" Macey inquired, crossing her thin arms. "I'll deal with that b-"

"Everything is fine," I stressed, power-walking to our table, eager to get away.

"Good morning," I said to Zach, looking into his deep green eyes, silently questioning "What's going on?"

"Hey," he replied, taking my hand, replying silently. "I'll tell you soon."

I just leaned my head against his shoulder, my arm intertwined with his, our hands joined.

"Not hungry?" Zach asked, noticing I hadn't taken any breakfast. I just shook my head in response. "Come on," he whispered, getting up.

"Oh, no," Grant said, standing in front of us. "You guys aren't going wherever so you can make out."

"Okay, you seriously need to get over this, man," Zach said, walking forward.

"No," Grant responded stubbornly, still blocking our path. "I-"

"Shut up, Grant," Bex scolded, pushing him down onto a chair. I looked at her, smiling softly. She gave me a small smile, but looked slightly worried. I tried to reassure her with my eyes, but Zach tugged me away before I could know if she got the message.

Zach pulled us into a storage closet, and held me close. "What do you know about Chris Henson?"

"Not much," I answered slowly, my eyebrows furrowed. "Was he the guy from las-"

"Shh," he shushed.

"Sorry," I apologized, whispering.

"It's fine. Yeah, he was there last night." Zach took my shoulders in his hands, and stared at me sternly. "Are you sure you don't know anything about him?"

"I just know that he just recently started going to Blackthorne."

"Do you know why?"

"He said it was classified." Zach sighed heavily, releasing me and running his hand through his dark hair. "What's going on, Zach?" I asked, touching his arm.

"Why do you think I wanted you to stay away from that guy?"

"Umm, jealousy?" I answered, asking it more than saying it.

Zach chuckled before putting his hand on my neck, raising my head so I was looking at him. "You think I would get _**that**_ jealous, because of one guy?" He smirked and leaned in closer to me, whispering, "These guys have nothing on me," before kissing me.

"Don't be so cocky," I whispered back, punching his chest playfully. "It's not an attractive quality."

"It is to you," he replied, still wearing that dang smirk. Then, his mood swiftly changed back to serious as he cradled my cheek.

"What do you know?" I asked him, holding his forearm. Zach's eyes dropped to the ground. He remained silent. "Hey, you have to tell me. You said you'd answer any question I have, remember?" I said, reminding him of that night in the booth. "So," I began, asking once more. "What do you know?" Zach sighed, and began speaking.

"Not much, but I have a couple theories." I waited for him to continue, to explain these theories. "Josh wasn't in Town by coincidence. I think 'Chris' used him, knowing I would tell you to meet me if we didn't have much time together that afternoon."

"Why would he want us to meet?"

"I don't know," he sighed. "Maybe he.." I waited for him to continue. "Maybe he wanted to see how much you mean to me." I decided not to ask him how much I **_did_** mean to him. Not now, at least.

"What would he gain from that?"

"A weakness. _**My**_ weakness." I wrapped my arms around Zach, hugging him in a warm embrace.

"Who do you think he's working for?" I whispered into his chest.

"The same people who killed my parents," he whispered, holding on to me tightly. "The Circle of Cavan."

I gasped. "I thought..aren't they dead?"

"They're still alive."

"What are we going to do?" I asked, looking into pools of green.

"What we were trained to do; what we were born to do. We're going to spy."


	11. Chapter 11

My hands were on Zach's broad, muscular shoulders, fingernails embedding themselves into the surface. Both of our breath was quiet and steady, our bodies breathing as one. His gaze led to the same area as mine, and only one thought came to my mind. _This is it_.

**Approximately 4 days earlier**

"Macey? Bex?" I called, wondering where my best friends could be. It was 4:49 in the morning, and none of them were in their sleeping places. I hadn't been able to get much sleep anyways, because of what Zach and I had planned for today. "Liz? Anyone here?" I whispered.

"Have a seat, Ms. Morgan," Bex said in a calm manner. Calm, but creepy. "We'd like to have a word with you."

"What are you doing?" Then, I gasped in realization, internally groaning at the same time. "Are you still going on about t-"

"We'll be asking the questions here, miss," Liz said, her usually sweet voice replaced with that same creepy calmness.

"There is no point in refusing, Cameron," Macey said, stalking towards me, holding an object behind her back. I began to walk backwards, but suddenly I heard a harsh 'snap', my arm began tingling, and I quickly lost consciousness.

Once I finally regained consciousness, I found myself bound to the toilet, my feet tied together as well. Refreshingly, no mouth gag. One by one, my peers **(A/N: only her main friends, not the whole school. so it's just Bex, Liz, and Macey)** began to fill the bathroom.

"We just have a couple of questions," Liz said reassuringly.

"Of course, that's why you knocked my out and tied me to a toilet!" I retorted quickly.

"Our methods will not be questioned," Macey told me, glaring with those cutting eyes. These girls were being really professional. I guess they've been brushing up on their interrogation techniques. "Now, what is going on with you and Zach?"

"Nothing," I groaned, extremely exhausted with this. I mean, I love them to death, but sometimes they can really work a girl's nerves.

"Don't lie to us, Cam," Liz pleaded. Bex didn't hesitate to swiftly flick her in the arm. Liz gave a small shriek before quickly covering her petite mouth. "Come on, we just barely talked Bex out of using torture. Now, just tell us what's going on."

I sighed. I had decided that I wouldn't tell the girls about what was going on. I didn't want to get them caught up in whatever Zach and I were getting into; for their own safety, I had to lie to them. To my best friends. But that's what a spy does. We lie. "Okay, you guys were right. I am a little mad at Zach for planting the bug, but that's not the big issue. It's just.." I trailed off for a second, shaking my head and looking to the side, not staring at anything in particular. "Do you remember what Tina said the other day, Macey?" I asked, turning my head to look at her.

"Could you be more specific, ma'am?" Macey asked, still using that professional tone.

"When she was saying 'Why does Zach like you again?'. I just got to thinking," I paused and bit my lip. "She's right," my voice cracked. "Why would he like someone like me?" I guess they decided to finally take mercy on me, because they all turned to each other and nodded. Then, they all untied me, stood me up, and hugged me.

"Oh, Cammie," Liz said in a soothing tone, rubbing my back.

"Are you seriously going to listen to Tina?" Macey scoffed.

"Yeah," Bex chimed in. "And besides, if Zach ever says something like that to you, I am going to kick his butt. That is a promise," she said, holding up her hand. If I wasn't trained so well, this is where I would break from the guilt. But as guilty as I felt, I knew this was for the better.

"Thanks, you guys. Now can we please go to sleep? I don't want to have to skip breakfast tomorrow because you're too busy doing my make up."

"Oh, silly Cameron," Macey shook her head. "There's no time for sleep. We're starting the make up now." I groaned, looking at the clock.

"It's only 5:21. Can't I sleep for ten minutes?" I whined.

"Now Cammie, what are you?" Bex asked.

"A Gallagher Girl," I mumbled.

"And what does a Gallagher Girl do?"

"Look good for her boyfriend?" I guessed, giving a small smile.

"Well that, and we do not whine."

"Fine," I exhaled loudly, exaggerating my annoyance. "What am I going to wear?"

~ZC~

"Hey," Zach greeted as I sat next to him, setting down my plate and glass. He gave me a quick kiss on the cheek, discreetly whispering, "Ready, Gallagher Girl?"

"Hey," I said back, giving him a look that said, "Bring it on". The table was awfully quiet today, seeing as Bex had a little "chat" with Grant yesterday. I saw that Grant was attacking his eggs, stabbing them with his fork, and immediately shoving them into his mouth. I nudged Zach, motioning to the scene, and he smirked.

"You know, if you went after your girlfriend the way you go after those eggs, maybe you wouldn't be complaining so much about me and Cammie."

Grant pretty much growled (which is extremely odd, considering how easy going he usually his), and walked away. I guess he decided it was better to just leave the table, than risk getting beat up by Bex. Smart man.

Zach shook his head. "Wow, I can't believe he actually had to walk aw-" He was cut off abruptly by being smacked in the head by Bex.

"Next time, I won't be so nice," she said, glancing down at his waist, silently telling him that she'd aim for "other body parts" next time. Then, she went after Grant, leaving the table.

"Well, wasn't that nice," I said, breaking the silence.

"Lovely," Liz agreed. "Well, we better get going to the lab. If we don't get there early, all the good computers will be taken." With that, Jonas and Liz left. I didn't understand how there would be computers that were better than the rest of them, but whatever. Zach and I were almost alone. We both looked over at Macey, who was checking her nails.

When she finally looked up, she sighed, "Fine, I'm leaving. But let me just remind you, Zachary Goode, hurt Cammie, we **_will_** come after you. Just remember that."

"Who's 'we'?" he asked, smirking. He looked as if he were amused by this.

"Us Gallagher Girls."

"Well, there's only one Gallagher Girl that I care about," he replied, putting his arm around me. "So why don't you go get a pedicure or something?" Zach made a "shooing" motion. Macey just glared at him and stalked away.

Zach looked at me and raised an eyebrow. "I had to tell them something to get them off my case," I explained. "And they kept asking about you..." I trailed off. Zach just nodded in understanding. I sighed and rested my head on his shoulder. "I'm so tired."

Zach ran his fingers through my hair. "Didn't get any sleep last night?"

"Mm-mm. Too nervous."

Zach kissed my head, stroking my hair. "You don't have to do this, you know," he told me.

"I know," I said, playing with the collar of his shirt. "It's just.." I couldn't explain it. It was hard enough being away from my mother, but away from everyone I know? I didn't know how I would- no, could- deal with that. Zach gently pulled my head away from his shirt, keeping his warm hand on the back of my neck, and looked into my eyes. Staring back into those pools of glistening emerald, I knew Zach felt the same way as I did. He didn't even have one parent, like me. He didn't have anyone like Solomon looking out for him. But there was one thing we did have. Each other. And that's how we were going to get through this.

Zach wiped away the tears I had unknowingly let roll down my cheeks. "I'm scared, Zach," I whispered.

"I know," he whispered back, rubbing my cheek soothingly. "Are you sure you want to do this?" he asked me.

"Yes," I whispered, gazing into his eyes. I know he probably would never admit it, but he needed me on this mission. Needed me to be with him.

Zach nodded, and kissed me, making all of my tension disappear. "Let's go." Zach and I stood up, and casually walked out of the empty cafeteria. Instead of walking to the hall to our classes, we walked toward the exit. I suppose the supervisors thought that putting guards on the doors would be too suspicious, because Zach and I slipped out of the doors. It was getting to the car that started the trouble.

"Ms. Morgan, you get back here immediately!" Mr. Solomon bellowed, chasing after us. Zach pulled me up by him, telling me to run at his speed. "Cameron!" Solomon yelled, his voice growing fainter and fainter. We reached the car (which we had already loaded the previous night), and turned on the ignition. As we sped away, I saw Solomon yelling at a group of men, running his hands through his hair in frustration, worry plaguing his face. _I'm so sorry_.

"You okay?" Zach asked me, taking one hand from the steering wheel to hold one of mine. His thumb rubbed reassuring circles on the back of my hand.

"Yeah," I said softly. "I'll be okay." Spies don't have feelings; we bury them deep down. Feelings get you killed.

"It's gonna be okay," Zach said to me, trying to cheer me up. I unbuckled my seat belt and crawled into Zach's lap, snuggling against his chest.

"How come you're being so nice to me? Usually you'd be like 'Get used to it, Gallagher Girl. You're a spy,' " I said in a mock voice.

"Well I was **_trying_** to be a good boyfriend," he said, trying not to smile. "But if you prefer me to be like I always am..."

"I like this," I smiled up at him, giving him a peck on the neck, as I couldn't reach his face. He smiled too, but kept his eyes on the road, checking to see if we were being followed. "Don't you think it's weird that Solomon didn't call after you? He just said my name." I felt Zach tense up, and his expression became hard.

"I told you. You're a Gallagher Girl, we're the stepchild no one wants to talk about." We didn't talk much the rest of the trip.

~ZC~

"We're here," Zach said, parking. I checked the time. _4:13_. The two of us got out, wearing our disguises. I could hardly recognize Zach under his new blond hair, freckles, and nose. Despite all of the new changes, he still looked stunning. His usually emerald eyes were replaced by warm, brown eyes (which still made me melt, but not like those emerald gems I'd grown so accustomed to). Zach smirked as he looked at me, up and down. I had a curly, chestnut-brown wig, with a fake nose as well. My eyes were a light shade of green, with golden flecks. The dress I had on was flowing and white, with gold accents, which accentuated the gold in my new eyes. My hair was tied in a simple, yet chic, ponytail, and I had on a short pair of heels.

I took my turn to check out Zach, noticing how his yellow shirt hugged his muscles, making his tan pop, and his distressed jeans hanging just by his hips. He smirked, and said, "See something you like?" seeing my eyes rest on the waist of his jeans.

I blushed deeply, and squeaked something incoherent.

"I'm sorry, what was that?" Zach asked, a smile playing on his lips.

"Come on, Zach," I said, power-walking into the abandoned building. Zach chuckled, and snaked his arm around my waist, pulling me close to him.

"Tell me," he whispered, kissing my neck.

"Mm-mm," I hummed, standing my ground (though he was **_not_** making it easy).

"Fine," he sighed. "I guess I'll have to do this the hard way." Then, Zach started to tickle me, not relenting until I told him something.

"Hey, lovebirds! Quit foolin' around and get in here!" a deep voice yelled, motioning for us to come in. We obeyed, running inside. _Whew. Saved_ I internally sighed.

"So," a woman began. Her ivory face was framed with glossy red hair, her eyes an icy blue. "You two must be the newbies Ben sent."

"Yeah, I'm Marisa," I began.

"Don't care," she cut me off. "Just get your stuff, and set them over there." Her slender finger pointed to a room down the hall. Zach and I set our bags in said room, and looked around. There was only one bed, a small bathroom, and an equally small closet. "Oh yeah," she popped in. "No sex. You're gonna need your strength." With that, she left.

"If she didn't want us to have sex, then why did she only give us one bed?" Zach raised his eyebrows at me. "Well I'm just saying," I mumbled.

The woman came back in, yet again. "Hi, I'm Sage." I'm guessing she read the look of confusion as to why she's suddenly so friendly on my face, because she explained, "I see you've met my twin, Stacia. Yeah, she's not exactly the **_happiest_** person around. So what are your names?" she asked with a smile.

"Well I'm Marisa," I replied with a smile, pointing to myself. "And this is Alex," I explained, gesturing to Zach. Sage's eyes stayed on Zach for a minute, looking him up and down.

"Nice to meet you. So, are you together?" she asked haltingly, pointing to Zach, and then to me.

"Yeah," Zach answered, wrapping his arm around my waist.

"Umm, I'm kind of new to the whole spy thing, so..." she trailed off for a second. "Aren't spies supposed to be alone? Well, I mean they aren't supposed to get involved with people, because of the feelings and everything. Like, aren't feelings weaknesses?"

"Yes." We all looked to see who was at the door. It was Chris. "And that's exactly how we've got Zach. He finally messed up." He looked to us. "So you're Ben's guys?" We both nodded. "Hmm."

"Wait, messed up?" Sage asked, looking extremely confused. "How?"

"By falling for someone. It's just a bonus that it's Cameron Morgan," Chris shrugged.

"Morgan?" she gasped. "As in-"

"Yup. She's the one and only child of Christopher Morgan." He shuddered and groaned in disgust. "I can't believe I share the same name as the guy." I tensed up, and Zach, noticing this, rubbed small, soothing circles on the small of my back. I exhaled quietly, calming myself.

"And how is that a bonus?" Sage asked. "He nearly killed everything we're built upon. Everything the Circle stands on."

"But he didn't." Chris said sharply, his tone cutting. "We got him before he got us. He shouldn't have been so stupid anyway," he continued, shaking his head. "If he hadn't tried to save those damn Goode spies..." he didn't finish his thought.

"Wasn't Morgan as spy, too, though?" Sage questioned, her thin eyebrows furrowing. It was a stroke of luck this girl was so clueless (even if she is really nice).

"Yes," Chris exhaled heavily. It was obvious he was getting annoyed. "But we didn't know it at the time."

"So he infiltrated us?"

"Yes," Chris gritted through his teeth. This boy really didn't like admitting to failure.

"And he was trying to save the Goode couple, but ended up dying with them?"

"Yes." Chris looked as if he was about to begin snarling.

"I was just making sure," Sage said softly, taking a step back. "Geez."

Chris sighed. "I know. It's not your fault." Then, he looked over at Zach and me. "Don't get too comfy. We're leaving tomorrow, 3:00."

"In the morning," Sage clarified. "Isn't that crazy?" I just smiled politely. I could tell she hadn't been a spy for too long. And she was really nice; it's not her fault she doesn't have as much training as the rest of us.

"Sage, don't you have to do something?" Chris asked, obviously telling her to leave. Sage just turned back to us and mouthed "Bye",giving us a small smile, before exiting the room quietly. "Sorry about her," Chris grinned sheepishly. "She's new at this. Stacia, Devon, and I have been trained since we were born. Sage..well she didn't have the same luck."

"Why not?" Zach asked, coldly.

"It's classified," Chris replied, using the same cold tone. "You guys should get some rest. You'll need it." With that, he left.

Zach pulled me to his chest, holding me tightly. I did the same to him, pulling him to me. We didn't need to talk, not yet. We knew what was on each others' minds.

"You dad died trying to save my parents." Zach finally spoke. I was going to ask him what he thought his parents did to the COC, but changed my mind. I didn't want to ruin whatever image Zach had of his parents. "Are you going to say anything?" he asked me, after concluding I wasn't answering.

"Not right now. It hasn't really processed yet," I said softly, speaking into his chest.

"Okay," he whispered, kissing my head. After another minute, he pulled me to the bed. We lied down, my leg pretzeled onto one of his, on of my arms spread across his muscular torso. Zach kept on arm around me, and held the hand that was resting on the flat planes of his chest. My eyelids began to drop, my sleep catching up with me. Zach moved the hair from my face and kissed my right temple. I'm not sure if I was already asleep, dreaming, but I could've sworn I heard Zach whisper, "I love you."


	12. Chapter 12

My hands were on Zach's broad, muscular shoulders, fingernails embedding themselves into the surface. Both of our breath was quiet and steady, our bodies breathing as one. His gaze led to the same area as mine, and only one thought came to my mind. _This is it_.

**Approximately 3 days earlier**

I felt warm hands gently shaking my shoulder. "Wake up," Zach whispered. I groaned, turning over. He chuckled. "That's not very spy-like behavior," he sang slightly. I could just tell he was smirking. I sighed and rubbed my eyes.

"I'm up. Are you happy?" I asked, sitting up in the bed, glaring.

"Well," he said, raising his eyebrows in mock surprise at my crankiness. "I'd hate to be your roommate. Aren't you girls supposed to be all mannered and stuff? Didn't you say that being well cultured was a matter of life or death?" I hate when people use my own words against me. I was just about to say something, when I noticed all Zach was wearing was a towel around his waist. He had **_definitely_** been working out more since last year. He caught me staring (again) and smirked. He sauntered closer to the bed, still smirking, a playful glint in his eyes. He bent to my level, so we were eye-to-eye. I noticed he hadn't put in the brown contacts in yet (although he did have the blond wig on), because I was staring straight into a sea of emerald. His beautiful eyes were boring into mine, and I felt my breath hitch. I think Zach heard it, too, because his lips spread into an even wider smirk. He started to lean in, so I tilted my head and closed my eyes in anticipation. _I love being a spy_. "You need to get ready," he whispered in my ear. Then he stood up, and proceeded to get ready. After he put his shirt and contacts on, he looked back at me. "Can I help you with anything?"

"That's not fair," I said, still sitting on the bed.

"What's not fair?" Zach asked, looking completely innocent.

"You know what," I replied, staring daggers at him. He can't just get me all anxious for something, and then just not deliver. He just chuckled, and walked back to me.

"You really need to get ready."

"Not until you kiss me." I crossed my arms.

"We don't have time for this." I kept my position. "Cammie," he whispered in my ear, making sure only I could hear him. "Will you please go take a shower? For me?"

"What are you going to do for me?" I countered.

"I'll tell you once you're dressed." I kept staring at him, wondering if he was telling the truth or not. Once I had decided he wasn't lying, I sighed.

"Fine." I headed to the bathroom, and took my shower, letting the hot water relax me. After I had finished everything (taking a shower, getting dressed, etc.), I went to search for Zach. He wasn't in our room anymore, so I wandered around the hall. There was loud talking coming from a room to my right, and when I finally reached it, I found Zach. He was sitting at a table, eating and laughing. Sage, Stacia, and another man (I later found out it was the Devon guy Chris was talking about before) were also seated. When Zach turned back and saw me, he motioned for me to sit next to him. I obeyed, and a plate of pancakes was handed to me. It wasn't as good as the food back at Gallagher, but it would have to do.

"Hi Marisa," Sage greeted cheerily, passing me the syrup.

"Hey," I smiled. Zach took my hand under the table, making me smile involuntarily. He gave my hand a small squeeze and let go, allowing me to eat. As we ate, I learned that we were leaving for Massachusetts in about ten minutes. Zach was right; we didn't have much time. Breakfast was quiet, not like how it was back at Blackthorne. Suddenly, I realized something.

"Where's Chris?"

"He's at Blackthorne," Sage answered happily. "I heard the guys there are **_beyond_** hot." She started waving herself and her breath was shaky. I chuckled to myself. It didn't take a spy to know just how sexy Blackthorne boys are.

Stacia gave Sage a harsh look. "Chris won't be joining us today. In fact, he won't be joining us for the majority of this mission." The rest of breakfast was particularly quiet.

Once we were all finished, we began to load the cars. Stacia, Devon, and Sage went in a car, and Zach and I used our car. Once we got rid of the bugs, the talking began.

"We still haven't found out what they want," I reminded Zach. He kept his gaze fixed on the road.

"They want revenge."

"For?" As a spy, I should have known what he was going to say next.

"For what my parents did. They want to kill me." I froze, paralyzed with shock. "Do you know how to get back to Blackthorne?" Zach suddenly asked.

"Why?"

"Do you?" he persisted.

"I'm not going back," I told him, placing my hand on his forearm.

"Yes, you are," He said to me, taking my hand from his arm, and resting it on my leg.

"No, I'm not."

"Cammie, this isn't up for discussion. I don't want history to repeat itself."

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"You know what it means."His eyes were focused on the road, defined jaw clenched, and his hands were gripping the wheel with extreme force.

"Tell me," I whispered, touching his arm. "Please."

"I don't want you to die trying to save me." That's all he said, but it was enough for me to understand. My dad died trying to save Zach's parents, and he didn't want the same thing to happen to me. "I don't deserve to be saved anyway," he said so softly, I wasn't sure if he really said it or not.

I climbed into his lap, slowly, making sure he could still control the wheel with his hand. "Don't be crazy," I whispered as I snuggled against his chest. "You don't deserve to die because of something your parents did."

He recited the same thing he said to me yesterday. "My parents got your dad killed."

"No, my dad died trying to save your parents." I clarified, holding back tears. "That means he must've thought your parents were worth saving, just like I think you're worth saving."

"And you're willing to die in that attempt?" he whispered.

"If that's what it takes." I took the hand of his arm, the one that was wrapped around me, and whispered, "I love you."

Zach moved his hand out of mine, resting it on the steering wheel, so he could use his other hand to lift my chin. Once our eyes locked, he said, "I love you, too."

"So are you still going to make me go back to Blackthorne?" I asked jokingly, smiling, as the atmosphere was suddenly lightened.

"Not if you kiss me."

"You're driving, Zach. I'll kiss you when we're at a red light."

"Nope. You have to kiss me right now, or I'm going to drop you off at the warehouse **(A/N: for those of you that don't remember, "Blackthorne" is a warehouse. see chapter 4)**. He turned his head to look at me.

"Zach," I dragged out. "Watch the road!" I yelled, as he was still staring at me.

"Kiss me," he smirked.

"Zach, don't be stupid. You're going to get us killed." My voice was shaky.

"You know, this morning, you refused to move unless I kissed you, but now you're the one that's not kissing me. You can be so confusing, Gallagher Girl, you know that?" He stepped down on the accelerator. "So, are you going to kiss me, or not?"

"Okay, okay!" I said frantically, seeing that there was a green light, and knowing it wasn't going to stay that way for long. He had to slow down. I gave Zach a kiss on the cheek, still watching the road. The light just turned yellow. We weren't going to make it at this speed; Zach needed to stop.

"That wasn't a kiss," Zach said. He leaned in and kissed me passionately for approximately 3.6 seconds. "_**That**_ was a kiss." He slammed on the brakes. I looked in front of us, seeing that we stopped at a perfect distance from the white line. I exhaled heavily, closing my eyes. "Have a little faith, Gallagher Girl."

"Yeah," I mumbled, trying to slow my racing heart.

"So," Zach said, dragging the word out. "We're at a red light. Are you going to kiss me?" He raised his eyebrows and smirked. I sighed and shook my head, smiling slightly. I put my hand on his cheek, and leaned in. I rested my forehead against his, and breathed, "You're crazy," half-laughing. His brown eyes were playful.

"You know you love it," he said softly before kissing me.

When we parted, I replied, "God help me, I do," before leaning in for another kiss.

~ZC~

"Come on, you two," someone banged on the car door. Apparently, Zach's way of making up not kissing me in the room earlier, was giving me a full of make-out session in the car. We had arrived before the rest of the guys, so we had plenty of time. But I always wanted more time when it came to being with Zach.

"Hey, watch it. This car costs more than your whole armory," Zach said, getting out and making sure there wasn't any dents or damage done to the door. It was weird seeing Zach having "guy moments". I mean, he just never really struck me as the type of guy that worries about his car._ All guys worry about their cars. They're like their babies_. Macey's voice filled my mind.

"Whatever man," Devon mumbled, walking away. He looked obviously hurt. I guess you don't diss another guy's weapons, either.

"Marisa! Alex! Come on!" Sage called, waving us in. I looked up at the building. It was much larger than the building we were previously at. It was basically a warehouse, but it was in much better condition than the other ones around us. Once we were all in, Stacia began to speak.

"Tomorrow, we will go over our plan, get our strategy together. For today, just spar. I need you at the top of your game tomorrow." She looked at directly at Zach and I, and added, "Get a well rest tonight."

"Why is she so hung up on us having sex?" I whispered, slightly groaning.

Zach just chuckled.

"That is all."

"It's like we're in school, or something, and she's the teacher," I said to Zach, once Stacia was out of sight.

"Just ignore her," he said to me, his lips pulling into a smile, as he pulled me closer to him, both of his arms around me. I lifted my arms, and wrapped them around Zach's neck. We were just about to kiss, when Sage interrupted.

"How do you guys do it?" she asked. "Not 'it'," she corrected. "I mean, how do you guys deal with your feelings and be a spy at the same time?"

"You just have to work at it," Zach shrugged. Then, he turned and looked into my eyes. "It's definitely worth it." I smiled. Zach turned back around to look at Sage. "Does that answer your question?"

"Yeah," she smiled, walking away. To notice the small twinge of sadness in her eyes, you didn't have to be a spy; you had to be a girl.

"I'll be back in a minute, okay?" I said, going after Sage. I heard Zach answer "Sure," from behind me.

"Hey," I greeted when I reached Sage's doorway. She was lying on a bed, her face in the pillows. I went and sat next to her. "You okay?" I placed a hand on her back.

"Could you close the door?" she asked, not looking up. Once I had locked the door, I went back to her.

"What's wrong?" Sage finally looked up, and let it all pour out.

"I don't wanna do this! I don't want to be a spy! I wanna have a boyfriend that loves me, like you. And I want friends, that would do anything for me. I just want a normal life," she sobbed. I pulled her into an embrace.

"Sage, you get all that when you're a spy," I soothed, rubbing her back. "If you were normal, do you think your friends would be as loyal?" She calmed down a little bit.

"What do you mean?" she asked, pulling away.

"Normal girls are catty, and deceitful, and backstabbers. When you're a spy, sure, you still might have some of that. But when it really comes down to it, they'll come through for you."

"I've never looked at it like that before," she said, looking down at her hands. "But I still don't like this. I don't want to kill that guy, Zach, and his girlfriend. They didn't do anything, it was just their parents." This girl was looking at it logically. She didn't pick sides, good or bad, she just wanted justice. Whether she wanted to be one or not, Sage was a spy at heart.

"Um, I'll be back in a minute, okay? I just remembered something." I stood up and headed to the door. "I'll be back in one minute, promise," I said as I opened the door. I went to find Zach. When I finally found him, he was sparring with Devon. By the looks of it, they were really into it.

"Alex," I called, trying to get his attention.

"Hold on," he grunted, as he landed a punch. The fighting went back and forth, but it the majority of the hits being landed came from Zach. Devon would throw a punch, Zach would duck. The only hits Devon really got were a punch to Zach's jaw, and a kick to his side. Zach quickly knocked Devon to the ground, and said, "That's enough for today," wiping sweat from his forehead.

"What, is it too much for you?" Devon mocked, but Zach just rolled his eyes and continued walking towards me.

"Hey," he smiled, leaning in for a kiss. I obliged, but pulled away quickly. His eyebrows furrowed, and he was about to say something, but I began speaking before he could say anything.

"I need to talk to you." Zach got the idea that I meant in private, so he led me to where we'd be staying for the night. We quickly scanned the room for bugs, and once they were eliminated, I sat on the bed, and told him my idea.

"What?" he asked, in complete shock. "You want to bring Sage back with us?" he whispered urgently.

"Come on, she's got a lot of potential."

"Potential?" he asked incredulously. "The girl's got the IQ of a rock!"

I crossed my arms, and glared at him. "I think she'd make a great spy; she just needs the proper training."

"We can't just risk everything on the hope that she would make a good spy." He was right. We couldn't just risk it all, hoping she'd come with us in the end. Maybe she has a better relationship with her sister than I think.

"I guess you're right," I replied dejectedly, looking down at my hands. I was really hoping she would be a Gallagher Girl.

"Hey," Zach said softly, sitting next to me. He put his arm around me, and said, "Maybe we can work something out." I smiled. It was sweet of him to try and cheer me up. I leaned my head up, and kissed his jaw. He flinched so slightly, that it was almost unnoticeable.

"Oh, I completely forgot! I'm sorry," I apologized as I gently stroked the place where he had been punched.

"It's fine," he smiled, holding my wrist. "It's not that bad anyway." I just raised my eyebrows, as if to say "Right. Sure it isn't."

"So is your side okay, too?" I asked, running my hand over his abs, to his right side.

"Yeah. But I was kicked on the other side."

"Oh," I said absentmindedly, sliding my hand to the other side, feeling his abs again. "It doesn't hurt?" I asked, looking up at him.

"Nope," he smirked. I had a feeling he knew that I was just using his injury as an excuse to feel his muscles. I blushed, and looked back down. Suddenly remembering Sage, I jumped up.

I told Zach I had to go back to Sage, and he nodded. Then, he did something that completely knocked me off guard. He took his shirt off.

"What are you doing?" I exclaimed, staring at his bare chest.

"Taking a shower." He was smirking again. He walked to me, and wrapped an arm around my waist. "Care to join me?"

"Hey!" Stacia yelled. "What did I tell you two? No sex." I blushed deeply. Once she had left, Zach broke into hysterics.

"What is wrong with you?" I screamed, slamming my fist into his chest.

"It was a joke," he laughed, tears forming at the corners of his eyes.

I just shook my head (and the indecent thoughts out), and returned to Sage's room. She had calmed down, and was back to her cheery self.

"Thanks, Marisa," she hugged me.

"No prob," I replied, smiling.

"We better start sparring before Stacia comes in and starts yelling at us."

I giggled, "Yeah. I'll go easy on you," I said as we walked out.

"So," Sage began as we reached the sparring mat. "I heard Alex kicked Devon's ass earlier."

"Yup," I said proudly. "That's my man."

"Can I say something?" She asked as she threw a punch.

I ducked and answered, "Shoot."

"Well, I don't want you to get mad or anything," she said as she moved away from my kick.

"It's okay, just say it."

"Your boyfriend is **_r__eally_** hot."

I laughed. "Yeah, he is." We kept sparring, and talking. The rest of the day was pretty much the same. Zach and I were the best out of everyone (in my opinion), and we knew that we had to take a couple of hits. When I let Devon land a kick, I saw Zach clench his fist. He looked like he was going to kill him, so I swiftly proceeded to punch Devon in his jaw. I'm pretty sure Zach heard the "crack!", because he started grinning. But everyone else went to his help, getting ice, and holding his head. I walked over to Zach, and gave him a kiss on the cheek.

"Nice punch," he congratulated. I smiled, and looked back at Devon.

"I think that's enough sparring for today," Stacia announced. I giggled, and she stared daggers at me. When she left, I whispered something to Zach.

"Do you think she's got a thing for Devon or something?" I asked under my breath.

"I don't know," he answered, obviously not interested in the subject. I sighed. It's times like these where I wish my friends were here. I mean, Zach's great and all, but sometimes you just need girl time. _At least Sage's here _I thought. _I just wish she didn't remind me of Stacia_.

"So what are we supposed to do now?" I asked, to no one in particular.

"Whatever you want!" Sage screamed happily. I guess she didn't get much free time around here.

And so, off we were, to another make out session in our room.


	13. Chapter 13

My hands were on Zach's broad, muscular shoulders, fingernails embedding themselves into the surface. Both of our breath was quiet and steady, our bodies breathing as one. His gaze led to the same area as mine, and only one thought came to my mind. _This is it_.

**Approximately 1 day earlier  
**

_Ow. Ow. Ow._ My legs ached with every step I took. We had just spent the last two days sparring. Sparring and exercising. Word of advice, _**never**_ do 7 sets of sumo squats under 4 minutes; they are pure torture.

"I wanna sit down," I whined, looping my arm with Zach's, and resting my cheek on his shoulder.

He chuckled. "You'll live."

"No I won't," I insisted. "I'll die of overexertion, and then you'll be sorry. You'll be like, 'I should have listened to her, but, no, I was too busy being a stubborn little meanie'."

Zach stopped walking, and turned to look at me. He just raised his eyebrows, not speaking. His expression read, "Really, Cam? 'A stubborn little meanie'?"

I shrugged, "Well.." I trailed off, not knowing what to say. He just rolled his eyes and kissed my temple.

"Remind me why I keep you around again," he said, smiling slightly.

"Because you love me," I sang, wearing a big, bright smile.

"Oh yeah, that's right," he smirked, leaning in to kiss me. I tried to look into his eyes, sensing his mood had just shifted, but he was too quick for me. Like clockwork, Stacia interrupted.

"Will you two get over your little love-fest? It's sickening."

"Maybe that's just 'cause you don't have anyone to love on," I said under my breath.

Stacia just glared and stalked away.

"Nice, Gallagher Girl," Zach whispered softly in my ear, chuckling.

"Shh," I whispered to him, slapping his chest lightly. "Someone's gonna hear you."

"It'll be fine," he promised, waving it away like it was no big deal. "Now are you just going to leave me here kiss-less?"

It was my turn to smirk. "Yup." And I started to walk away, but Zach's arms snatched my waist.

"You're not getting away that easily," he mumbled as he kissed my neck, nuzzling against it.

"Alex," I giggled, pushing him away playfully.

"Mmm," he groaned in protest, returning to his previous position. This time, he brought his way up to my lips, not allowing me to escape. I tried to resist at first, but I always crumbled, and he was well aware of that fact. Soon, I was grabbing Zach's hair, and his hand was hot behind my neck, as well as on the small of my back.

"Wow, you two really know how to steal a spotlight, don't you?" Devon seethed.

We broke apart, and observed our surroundings. Sage and Devon were still eating dinner, and there were 2 other people I had never seen before. Everyone was staring at us, mouths gaping. I felt my face get hotter, and I turned my head into Zach's broad chest. He chuckled, and hugged me tightly.

"I think its cute," Sage piped up, saving me. "Sorta." Her smile faltered for just a second, but it quickly reappeared.

I smiled in return, flashing her a quick look of thankfulness.

Stacia reappeared. "Get some rest. I can't have you all sore and tired tomorrow. You need to be alert." Soon, the room began to empty, and Zach and I left to rest as well. I wish that we had to take out the contacts to sleep, but Zach got us the kind where you didn't need to. They didn't damage your eyes or anything like that, they were just specially made for going undercover. I know it was an extremely helpful thing, because our cover wouldn't be blown, but I had been longing to look into Zach's green eyes. He lied on to bed first, pulling me down next to him. I snuggled myself into his strong arms, and smiled into his chest.

He brushed the hair behind my ear, and kissed my cheek, whispering, "Goodnight." I looked up to meet his glistening eyes, and whispered the same thing. Zach rested his hand on my cheek, caressing it. He looked into my eyes, and I could see that he was worried. What about, I didn't want to think about.

"I love you," I said softly. A long silence passed between us.

"We should get some rest," he finally replied, looking away. I looked down, my heart sinking. Zach hadn't said he loved me since we'd been in the car together. _Maybe he changed his mind_ I thought, tears beginning to form. I closed my eyes, not letting them escape, and went to sleep.

**Earlier that day**

I woke up to find myself alone. _4:46 am_. I sighed, and went to take a shower. Once I was dressed, I sought out for the breakfast table, complying to my growling stomach. Devon and Stacia were the only two seated at the table. Stacia was giggling. _**Giggling**_.

"Hey," I said, feigning happiness. I sat down, and reached for two slices of toast. Stacia glared at me.

"You're up early." She was staring daggers at me.

"Um, it's 5:13. I thought today was 'the big day'?"

She deepened her glare, if that's even possible. "I said to get your rest."

"I did," I nodded, as if I were talking to someone who couldn't understand English.

"Well why don't you go back to sleep? I'm sure Alex is missing you."

"Yeah," I said, my voice barely audible. My eyes dropped to the ground, and I began to fidget with my hands.

"Oh, don't tell me there's trouble in paradise?" she gasped, putting her hand to her chest for added effect. Now I was glaring.

"We're doing fine, thanks," Zach replied, sitting down next to me, and putting his arm around me. He turned his head towards me. "Why'd you get up so early, babe?" he whispered to me, making sure it was just loud enough for Stacia to hear. "I missed you." He kissed my jaw.

"Aww, see? I told you he was looking for you," Stacia gushed. I wanted to take that apple juice she was sipping and do some things I'm not allowed to mention here.

"Mm," I hummed, mostly in annoyance.

"Why don't you two sleep in for a little longer?" she suggested sweetly, and I was ready to wipe that grin off of her face.

"Good idea," Zach chimed in. "Thanks." He stood up, pulling me up with him, and walked us back to our room. "So are you gonna tell me what the hell is wrong, or am I going to have to guess?" Zach asked once he closed the door.

"Everything's fine," I said coldly, going to open the door.

"Don't give me that." Zach blocked my exit.

"Well that's the truth, so I don't know what else you want me to say," I insisted, crossing my arms. We stared each other down for approximately 3 minutes and 27 seconds.

He huffed. "Will you please, just tell me what's going on?" Zach begged, putting his hands on my hips, pulling me closer to him. "Tell me what I can do to make this right."

I sighed and uncrossed my arms. "Could we talk about it later?" I asked, looking up at him. "I just want to get this over with." I didn't have to tell him what "this" was; we both knew why we were here.

"Sure," Zach sighed after a moment, admitting defeat. He leaned in to kiss me, but when he tried to deepen it, I pulled away.

"I'm hungry," I said, and my stomach growled to help me prove my point. I'm pretty sure Zach was convinced it was an excuse, but when my stomach growled, maybe he changed his mind. Or maybe he just thought I got lucky.

"I'll go get us something." With that, he left the room. I sat on the bed, waiting. I didn't want my mind to wander, so I went to begin a game of solitaire to keep me busy. Right as I was about to turn on my iPod Touch, I realized something. If I turned it on, Liz was sure to track the location in a heartbeat. I sighed again. I missed my friends, especially at times like this. I wished Macey was here so I could figure out what was going on with Zach.

"Hey," Zach popped back in the room, snapping me back to reality. "Okay, so I got toast, strawberry jelly, biscuits, margarine, and croissants." He said the name of each item as he lay them down on a blanket. It was obvious he was trying to lighten the mood. "I only got orange juice," he said as he lied the carton down. "Milk's not really my thing," he explained, smiling sheepishly. I giggled. He looked so cute when he was embarrassed.

"Sure." He looked at me, thoroughly confused, so I added, "You don't get muscles like those drinking orange juice." I gestured to his body for emphasis.

Zach smirked, but didn't say anything. He just grabbed a piece of toast, and loaded on the margarine. I could feel my eyes bulging. "What?" he asked, his mouth full of bread.

"How can you eat all that?" I was amazed, and my tone definitely reflected that.

"Huh?"

"All that margarine."

"Um, I don't know." He just shrugged. Guys were so lucky. _You and your stupid fast metabolism_ I thought.

I shook my head, and began eating as well.

~ZC~

Once we finished eating, we went outside and suited up. We were armed with the basics: guns, comms devices, proper footwear. Just the usual.

"Everyone ready?" Stacia asked once everyone was prepared. "I want no mistakes on this. Got it?"

We all nodded.

"Good. Now, Sage, and Logan, you two will go together. You two,"-she pointed to us- "Go together. Devon and I will go together. We get in, grab the girl, and get out. Only go for the alumni disk if it's in your reach."

I could feel my eyebrows furrow. _Are they talking about me?_

"We will meet up with Chris at the Blackthorne warehouse, and head back here at 11:00. Remember, **_no mistakes_**." _Yeah, they're definitely talking about me_. "This is a one-time opportunity. Solomon is taking the girls on a mid-term exam, roughly 120 miles from their warehouse. If we mess up, we're screwed. These girls stick together glue. Mess with one 'sister', you mess with all of them. So **_don't screw up_**."

I smirked. It was good she knew what she was getting into.

"What are you grinning about?" Stacia scowled.

"Nothing. Just, if you don't think you can handle it,-"

"I can handle it," Stacia said through her teeth.

"Okay," I put my hands up in surrender, channeling my inner Zach. "If you think so." Stacia opened her mouth to say something, but Sage beat her to the punch.

"Wait, a.m or p.m?" Sage asked, raising her hand. Stacia just sighed and shook her head.

"A.m," I smiled, leaning forward so I could look at her.

"Thanks," she smiled, her face pink.

"Don't worry about it. It's an honest question."

"Yeah, if you're a dipshit," someone coughed.

"You wanna say that again?" I glared, staring down some stranger I had never even met.

"No ma'am," he answered, looking down.

"That's what I thought," I mumbled, walking over to Sage. "He's an idiot, just ignore him."

"He's right, though. I don't even belong here."

I wrapped my arm around her shoulder. "Hey, remember what we talked about?" She nodded. "If you weren't important, you wouldn't be here."

"But if I'm so important, why didn't they train me earlier? Why did they take Stacia and not me? Why-"

"I find that the word 'why' can make a person go crazy. Especially a girl," I interrupted. _I know it's made me crazy_ I thought, going back to all the time I spent wondering about Zach.

"But-"

"Come on," Zach interrupted, his tone gentle. "We're about to leave." I nodded, and turned back to Sage.

"We'll talk later," I assured her, smiling, knowing that I'd never see her again.

"Okay." Sage walked outside to help load the cars.

"Ready?" Zach whispered to me. He went to hold my hand, but quickly decided not to, letting his arm drop to his side.

"As ready as I'll ever be," I whispered back, reaching out and holding his hand. He smiled, and kissed me on the cheek. I smiled in return. I checked my watch and said, "We better get to the car."

He said okay, and led me to our vehicle. We got in, and checked for bugs again. It took about 3 minutes and 15 seconds to properly dispose of them all.

"They're suspicious," I said solemnly, noticing there were much more bugs than before.

"They're smart," Zach replied. He turned so that our eyes were locked. "We just have to be smarter." I nodded slightly, acknowledging how serious a situation we were in. He turned back to the road, and drove at a moderate pace. We didn't talk much for the rest of the ride.

We finally pulled up to the familiar building, and I sighed. Zach took my hand, and squeezed it reassuringly. I smiled nervously, and took a deep breath.

"Let's go," I whispered. We followed Stacia and the rest of the Cavan followers to the entrance to a carnival. It brought back bittersweet memories. Memories of my first CoveOps mission, my first boyfriend. Nearby, there was a rusty warehouse. _Are warehouses like the one-shouldered dresses of the spy world?_ **(A/N: ive seen like a bunch of celebs wearing these, so i just thought they were pretty big. sorry if i'm wrong)**. Solomon was sitting on a fairly near bench, quietly saying commands into a comms unit. He kept discreetly glancing over to the warehouse. Stacia noticed this, and told us to get into the building.

"Get to the back entrance," she whisper-shouted to Zach and I. "We're going to get the girl." We obliged, and sneaked to the warehouse's back door. There were huge, wooden boxes stacked on top of each other, guarding each side of the door. Zach pulled me behind him, so that my back was against the boxes, and I held onto him. He leaned forward to peer in, opening the door the slightest amount.

"The alumni disk is in there," he whispered to me, opening the door so I could see.

My hands were on Zach's broad, muscular shoulders, fingernails embedding themselves into the surface. Both of our breath was quiet and steady, our bodies breathing as one. His gaze led to the same area as mine, and only one thought came to my mind. _This is it_.

We sneaked (or rather, glided) in, and secured the disk in my jacket. Then, we carefully exited the old warehouse, and went for our car. We both knew this would be the hard part, getting out safely.

In the distance, I heard Chris' voice yell, "They've escaped!" I turned to the direction of the voice, and made eye contact with the boy I despised so much. He pointed to us, but before he could yell anything, Macey pounced on him.

"Go!" she screamed, dragging Chris to the ground. Stacia and Sage saw Zach and I, and I saw the hurt look on Sage's face.

"I'm sorry," I whispered, running next to Zach. They were coming after us, and it was definite they weren't going to show mercy. Zach and I swiftly entered our car, and stepped on the gas. The sound of the tires screeching signaled our presence.

"You've got the disk, right?" Zach asked breathlessly.

"Yeah," I nodded, equally as breathless. I looked into his eyes, and we shared a thought of victory. _We did it_. But the sound of gunshots interrupted our moment.

"Whoa!"Zach moved over to his left. "Take the wheel!" he screamed, pulling out a gun. My eyes widened. I had never seen Zach in action like this before. He rolled down the window, and leaned half of his torso out into the open. He fired three times, and I tried to concentrate on the road. Another shot fired, but not from Zach's weapon.

"Zach?" I asked, pulling him back into the car. He had a bullet under his right shoulder. "Oh my god," I said, sobs escaping from my chest. I looked back at the car behind us, and saw an injured Devon smiling evilly.

"Keep your hands on the wheel," he ordered.

"But Zach-"

"Keep your hands on the wheel," he repeated, his tone solemn. He groaned softly, and pulled himself so he could get in a shooting position. He fired one more shot, and collapsed back into the seat.

"Zach?" I cried frantically. "Zach? Zach?" I shrieked repeatedly, shaking him, tears soaking my face. I looked back, and saw Devon's corpse laying half-out the window. I put my knee on the wheel, steadying it, and took off my shirt. I held it to Zach's wound, and kept applying pressure.

"Come on, Zach," I whispered, speeding down the road. "Just please, hang in there."

~ZC~

Zach's eyes opened slightly. "Cammie?" he asked, his voice rough.

"I'm right here, Zach," I assured him, holding his hand between mine.

"The disk. Is it-"

"It's fine. Everything's okay. Just rest."

"Nah, I'm good." He sat up, and looked around. I did the same, staring at the white walls I had been looking at for so long. Zach turned his head to the IV he was connected to, and looked back at me. "How long have you been here?"

"A couple days. How are you feeling?" I asked warmly.

"I'm okay." He looked at me, and I was so glad they removed his contacts. It had felt like forever since I stared into his green depths. "Come here," he said softly, pulling me by the hand into his lap. "How are you doing?"

"I'm okay," I smiled.

"Are we okay?" he asked, cradling my face. I had no choice but to look at him.

"Well..," I trailed off in thought.

"Just tell me what's wrong. I'll fix it."

"Well, you can't exactly fix this kind of problem."

"Cammie." He looked at me, and pointed to himself. I smiled, knowing what was coming. "Spy."

"That doesn't really apply here," I told him.

"Just say it. And then, we can decide whether it's fix-able or not."

"Okay, but I really don't think you can fix someone not loving you." I looked down and played with my fingers.

"Oh," Zach said in understanding. "So, you changed your mind. Um, that's okay. W-"

"What?" I looked up at him, extremely confused. "You changed your mind, not me."

"Where did you get that idea from?" Zach looked just as confused as me.

"Well, at the warehouse, you just seemed so distant, and I..."

He sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "I did that because.." I waited for him to continue. "I didn't want you to get your hopes up in case something happened," he sighed heavily.

"I don't get it."

"If you knew that I loved you, you wouldn't be able to be happy once I was out of your life. You'd always think about what could have been, and you wouldn't be able to live a happy life."

"And what makes you think you know what's best for me, Zachary Goode?"

He was completely thrown off by my sudden anger.

"If I want to be in love with someone that's going to eventually cause me pain, then that's my choice. Why do you get to have a say in that?" He furrowed his brows even more, and sighed in utter surrender.

Zach pulled me closer to him, and snuggled me into his muscular chest. "You're crazy," he whispered, shaking his head. He kissed my forehead. "But I love you."

I smiled and hugged Zach. Closing my eyes, I replied, "I love you, too."

* * *

I think there will be one more chapter, and idk about a sequel yet. sorry about the long wait. please review:)


	14. Chapter 14

Hey, i'm really sorry about not updating but ive had a close family member in the hospital since March and he's just now getting better. ive also had a lot of homework on top of that, so i haven't been able to update. Im putting up a poll on if you want me to continue To Spy or Not To Spy, start a sequel to He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not, or just do a whole different story. please tell me what you would like me to do, and I love all of you who are still reading my stories and write the sweetest and most amazing reviews.

I put up the new sequel. It's called "ROOTS" the first chapter is kind of rough, but i really wanted to put something up. I hope you enjoy it and sorry if i disappointed you again by making you think it was a new chapter


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